(MENAFN) Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has postponed his scheduled visit to South Africa for the G20 summit, citing escalating security threats at home, including a violent assault on a girls’ boarding school in Kebbi State.

On Monday, armed assailants attacked the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga village, killing two staff members and abducting 25 students. Authorities were alerted after a 15-year-old girl escaped the attack. Tinubu had been slated to depart Abuja on Wednesday for Johannesburg for the G20 leaders’ meeting this weekend, before proceeding to Angola for an African Union-EU summit.

“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,” said spokesperson Bayo Onanuga in a Wednesday statement.

The president is awaiting detailed reports from his vice president and police authorities but has not confirmed whether he will attend the summit at a later date.

The decision follows another deadly attack in Eruku, Kwara State, where gunmen opened fire on worshippers at the Christ Apostolic Church during a Tuesday evening service, killing at least two people and abducting others.

Meanwhile, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) claimed responsibility for capturing and executing Nigerian Brigadier General Musa Uba of the 25 Task Force Brigade after a deadly ambush on a military convoy in Borno State last Friday. The Nigerian Army reported that four additional security personnel were killed in the attack.

In a statement on Wednesday, Tinubu expressed his grief over the mounting violence, saying he is “depressed with the tragic death” of General Uba and the soldiers, and the disruption of the schoolgirls’ education by “heartless terrorists.” He added that he has instructed security agencies to “act swiftly” and rescue the 24 girls.

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