President Bola Tinubu has postponed his G20 trip to South Africa to oversee the response to the abduction of 24 schoolgirls in Maga, Kebbi State, and a separate church attack that killed two people. The girls were taken after gunmen exchanged fire with police; one student escaped and the vice-principal was killed. Authorities say the assailants may be former herders involved in communal clashes. International commentators have politicised the violence, a claim the Nigerian government rejects, noting that victims from multiple faiths have suffered in the country’s security crises.
Tinubu Delays G20 Trip as Search Intensifies for 24 Abducted Schoolgirls in Kebbi State
President Bola Tinubu has postponed his G20 trip to South Africa to oversee the response to the abduction of 24 schoolgirls in Maga, Kebbi State, and a separate church attack that killed two people. The girls were taken after gunmen exchanged fire with police; one student escaped and the vice-principal was killed. Authorities say the assailants may be former herders involved in communal clashes. International commentators have politicised the violence, a claim the Nigerian government rejects, noting that victims from multiple faiths have suffered in the country’s security crises.
05:01 PM, 11/20/2025Security
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has postponed a planned trip to South Africa for the upcoming G20 summit to focus on the search for 24 schoolgirls abducted in Kebbi State and to oversee the response to a separate deadly attack on a church.
In a statement on Wednesday, the president’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said Tinubu suspended his departure following the abduction and the church attack, which left two worshippers dead. Tinubu had been due to leave ahead of the two-day summit in Johannesburg, scheduled to start Saturday.
"Disturbed by the security breaches in Kebbi State and Tuesday’s attack by bandits against worshippers at Christ Apostolic Church, Eruku, President Tinubu decided to suspend his departure," Onanuga said.
What happened
The 24 girls were taken late on Sunday night from a secondary school in the northwestern town of Maga in Kebbi State. Authorities say unidentified armed men exchanged fire with police before scaling the school's perimeter fence and abducting the students. One pupil escaped and the school’s vice-principal was killed during the raid. No group has claimed responsibility and the motive remains unclear.
Security context
Officials have suggested the attackers are largely former herders who have taken up arms after violent clashes with farming communities over dwindling resources. Such communal and criminal violence has increased pressure on local security forces in several northern and central states.
Related church attack and international reaction
In a separate incident on Tuesday, armed assailants attacked a church in western Nigeria, killing two people during a service; the attack was recorded and later broadcast online. The episodes have drawn international attention and been invoked by some foreign political figures to argue that religious communities are being targeted. Supporters of former US President Donald Trump amplified claims that Christians are under attack, and controversial rhetoric — including threats of force reported in some statements — prompted a firm rebuttal from the Nigerian government, which noted that Muslims have also suffered heavily in the country’s broader security crises.
Current status
It remains unclear if or when President Tinubu will travel to Johannesburg, as security operations continue to search for the abducted students and to investigate the church attack. Federal and local authorities say they are intensifying efforts to recover the girls and hold those responsible to account.