Garba Maidoki, senator representing Kebbi South, says he is confident that the schoolgirls abducted in the state will be rescued soon.
Speaking on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme, Maidoki said the abductors have not taken the girls outside Kebbi South.
“We have a fair idea where the girls are, and we are sure they have not moved outside the Kebbi South senatorial district,” he said.
“There is high hope that the girls will return home in one or two days.”
The Kebbi lawmaker described the latest abduction as the most unfortunate week of his life.
“When we heard of the kidnapping of the Chibok girls, we thought it was too far away… today, it is right in the middle of my house,” he said.
Maidoki said he visited Maga after the attack to console affected families.
“These are people that we assured that when we win the election, there will be security,” he said. “Security was the number one item on the agenda for my election. We will work with the government and other security agents to ensure these children are brought back home. This will not be like the Chibok girls. They will come back home.”
The Maga abduction adds to the rising number of school kidnappings across Nigeria. In 2014, Boko Haram abducted 276 students from Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok, Borno. More than 90 of the Chibok girls remain missing.
Gunmen raided Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, on Monday, killing the vice principal, who attempted to resist the attackers.
Security agencies have been directed by the federal government to rescue the girls. Vice-President Kashim Shettima visited the community on Wednesday at the behest of President Bola Tinubu.
Shettima spoke on the administration’s priority of ensuring the safe return of the children. He said the federal government will deploy every available tool to secure the release of the girls.
The president has also postponed planned trips to South Africa and Angola following the attack.
