The Governor of Kebbi State, Nasir Idris, has publicly demanded the military high command provide urgent clarification on why its personnel were withdrawn from a secondary school mere moments before a mass abduction of schoolgirls.
Governor Idris voiced his profound dismay on Thursday while receiving the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, who was on a solidarity visit to the state over the incident.
The governor revealed he was “deeply troubled” by the fact that security forces pulled out from the Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in the Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area, despite the state government having provided prior intelligence warnings.
Detailing the sequence of events, Governor Idris stated that soldiers reportedly vacated the school premises around 3am, with the armed attackers striking less than 45 minutes later.
“We provided intelligence reports. We alerted them. So, who gave the order for troops to withdraw at that critical hour?” the governor queried.
He has called for a full-scale military investigation into the circumstances that led to the withdrawal, an action he said directly contradicted earlier assurances from security agencies of reinforced protection for schools in vulnerable border communities.
The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, during the visit, expressed the labour union’s solidarity with the state government and the grieving families, urging federal security agencies to prioritise the safe rescue of all abducted students.
