President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has put aside his planned diplomatic engagements in Johannesburg and Luanda, choosing instead to focus on the growing security challenges at home.
According to a statement issued on Wednesday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President opted to postpone the trip in order to receive comprehensive security updates on two disturbing incidents: the abduction of students in Kebbi State and the armed attack on worshippers at the Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State.
Tinubu’s decision follows an appeal from the Kwara State governor, prompting the President to order an intensified security presence in Eruku and across the entire Ekiti Local Government Area. He also instructed the Nigeria Police Force to pursue the attackers and restore calm to the affected communities.
The President had been scheduled to depart Abuja today for the 20th G20 Leaders’ Summit in South Africa, after which he was expected to travel to Angola for the 7th AU-EU Summit. However, the recent wave of violence—in Kebbi, where 24 schoolgirls were kidnapped, and in Kwara, where bandits struck a church congregation—compelled him to suspend his international itinerary.
Tinubu is now awaiting detailed reports from Vice President Kashim Shettima, who visited Kebbi on his behalf, as well as briefings from the police and the Department of State Services on the Kwara attack.
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Reaffirming his position, the President ordered security agencies to intensify all efforts toward locating and safely rescuing the abducted schoolgirls, underscoring that bringing them home remains an urgent national priority.