President Bola Tinubu has delayed his scheduled trip to South Africa for the G20 summit, following the abduction of 24 schoolgirls in Kebbi State and a separate deadly attack on a church in Kwara.
In a statement on Wednesday, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said the president suspended his departure in response to the worsening security situation. Tinubu was initially expected to travel on Wednesday ahead of the two-day summit beginning Saturday.
“Disturbed by the security breaches in Kebbi State and Tuesday’s bandit attack on worshippers at Christ Apostolic Church, Eruku, President Tinubu decided to suspend his departure,” Onanuga said.
It remains uncertain whether the president will attend the summit at a later time.
The schoolgirls were taken late Sunday when armed men stormed a secondary school in Maga, northwest Kebbi. The attackers reportedly exchanged gunfire with police before breaching the fence and seizing the students. One girl managed to escape, while the school’s vice principal was killed during the attack. No group has claimed responsibility.
Authorities have linked such attacks to armed groups made up largely of former herders involved in violent clashes with farming communities over land and resource pressures.
In another incident on Tuesday, gunmen attacked a church in western Nigeria, killing two people during a service that was being livestreamed.
The rising violence has drawn political reactions abroad. Some supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump have cited the attacks as proof of alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria—claims Nigeria has rejected, noting that Muslims have also been heavily affected by the country’s security crises.
