‘Kebbi’s Pain Is Nigeria’s Pain,’ Shettima Tells Grieving Families, Assures Tinubu Is Deeply Troubled and Vows Rescue of Abducted Schoolgirls

Vice President Kashim Shettima today, Wednesday, November 19, 2025, led a high-powered Federal Government delegation to Birnin Kebbi, where he met with families of the abducted schoolgirls from Maga and conveyed President Bola Tinubu’s message of solidarity and anguish.

Speaking to the grieving parents and state officials, Shettima assured them that President Tinubu is “deeply troubled by this tragedy” and is personally committed to ensuring the children’s safe and swift return.

“Mr President shares your anguish, and he has sent me to assure you that this is not a moment for politics. This grief transcends party lines, geography, and identity,” Shettima stated. “When girls in the safety of their classroom are seized by criminals, our collective conscience is assaulted… Our priority is singular and unflinching: our daughters must return home safely.”

Commitment to Justice and Rescue

The Vice President, who described the pain of the families as “Nigeria’s pain,” vowed that the Federal Government would deploy “every instrument of the state” to bring the girls home and ensure that the perpetrators of the attack—which claimed the life of Vice Principal Hassan Makuku—face the full weight of justice.

Shettima’s visit, directed by the President, follows the early-Monday raid on the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, where 25 female students were taken. The visit was also used to convey condolences over the death of Brigadier General Musa Uba and other soldiers killed in action in Borno State.

The Vice President commended the efforts of Kebbi State Governor Mohammed Nasir Idris, community leaders, and local vigilantes, stressing that their “cooperation, vigilance, and unity are indispensable” to the ongoing search and rescue operations being executed by security forces in the Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area.

In response, Governor Idris thanked the President and the Vice President for the swift display of concern and commitment, reassuring the delegation of the state’s full cooperation and optimism regarding the girls’ eventual release.