Kebbi Governor Demands Explanation From Military Over Troop Withdrawal Before School Abduction

Kebbi State Governor Nasir Idris has demanded answers from military authorities over the withdrawal of troops from Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, shortly before students and staff were abducted.

The governor expressed serious concern that security personnel left the school despite prior intelligence alerts provided by the state government. He made the comments while receiving Nigeria Labour Congress President, Joe Ajaero, who visited the state in solidarity.

According to Idris, soldiers reportedly left the school around 3:00 a.m., and the attack occurred less than 45 minutes later.

“As a responsive government, when we received intelligence about a possible attack, we convened a security meeting. The agencies assured us that all was well and that personnel would be deployed to the school. The military was deployed, but they withdrew by 3 a.m., and by 3:45 a.m., the incident happened,” the governor said.

He added that the state has called for a thorough investigation into the circumstances behind the troop withdrawal.

“Who authorised the military to withdraw? How did security personnel leave at such a critical time? That is our concern. We have asked the military to investigate and identify who gave that order,” Idris said.

The governor noted that the withdrawal was at odds with earlier assurances of strengthened protection for schools in high-risk border communities frequently targeted by bandits.

He assured that both the state and federal governments are making every effort to secure the safe return of the abducted students.

“Our duty as leaders is to ensure that our daughters come back home safely, and we are doing everything possible to achieve that,” he said.