A former senior military figure in Nigeria, Maj. Gen. Rabe Abubakar, and his wife have been abducted by armed men in the country’s north-west, underscoring the deepening security fragility across the region.
According to military authorities, the retired general—who previously served as Army spokesman between 2015 and 2017—was seized on Saturday, while travelling by road in Katsina State. He was reportedly intercepted in his vehicle, alongside his wife, by gunmen who later whisked them into a forested area.
The Nigerian military has confirmed that coordinated rescue operations are underway, with intelligence and field units deployed to locate the victims and apprehend the perpetrators. Officials say investigations are ongoing, and no group has yet claimed responsibility. The abductors are yet to establish contact with the family, according to military sources.
The incident adds to a persistent pattern of insecurity in north-west Nigeria, where armed criminal networks—locally referred to as “bandits”—frequently carry out kidnappings for ransom, cattle rustling, and coordinated attacks on rural settlements. Analysts also note occasional overlaps between criminal violence and extremist insurgent activity in the wider Sahel corridor.
The abduction comes against a backdrop of heightened violence in the region, including recent deadly attacks in surrounding communities, intensifying pressure on authorities to strengthen counter-insurgency and civilian protection measures.
As rescue efforts continue, the episode stands as a stark reminder of a volatile security landscape where even high-profile former military officials are not beyond reach—an unsettling signal in the broader struggle for stability across northern Nigeria.