President Bola Tinubu has expressed his relief and welcomed the successful rescue of all 24 schoolgirls kidnapped from the Government Girls’ Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State.
The President’s approval was confirmed in a statement from his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
Commending the security agencies for their role in freeing the hostages, President Tinubu issued a directive for them to intensify their operations to secure the release of all other students still held captive across the country.
“I am relieved that all the 24 girls have been accounted for,” the President stated.
He further emphasized the need for proactive measures, saying, “Now, we must urgently deploy more boots on the ground in vulnerable areas to prevent further kidnappings. My government will provide all necessary support to achieve this.”
The girls were abducted one week ago when bandits raided their school hostel.
The incident triggered national outrage and amplified calls for better protection of educational institutions, particularly in the rural and heavily affected North-West region where bandit attacks are widespread.
Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.
Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.
He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.
Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).
He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.
He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.
Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.
