Rtd. Major General Rabe Abubakar
The Katsina State Government and the Defence Headquarters have confirmed the tragic passing of retired Major General Rabe Abubakar, a former Director of Defence Information, who died while being held hostage by armed bandits.
The retired senior officer, who was abducted alongside his wife, Amina, on May 30, 2026, while traveling through the Matazu Local Government Area of Katsina State to attend a wedding, succumbed to severe medical complications linked to diabetes and hypertension under the harsh conditions of detention.
Confirming the devastating news in a statement on Saturday, the Katsina State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Dr. Nasiru Mu’azu, described the incident as a monumental loss to his immediate family, Katsina State, and the entire nation.
Despite relentless, coordinated rescue operations launched by the state administration, the Armed Forces, and sister security agencies, every operational asset deployed failed to secure his release before the tragedy unfolded.
Reacting to the development, the current Director of Defence Information, Major General Samaila Uba, explained that the military command had intentionally refrained from public commentary during the abduction period to protect the tactical integrity of the ongoing rescue missions.
He lauded the late General Abubakar—who served as military spokesperson between 2015 and 2017—as a towering figure in strategic communications whose legacy in counter-insurgency campaigns and military professionalism remains a blueprint for serving personnel.
The reality of the captivity had earlier gripped the nation on June 6, when a distressing video surfaced online showing the visibly frail General and his wife being forced to appeal to President Bola Tinubu and Governor Dikko Radda to meet the abductors’ demands, which included the release of detained associates and confiscated livestock.
Governor Dikko Umaru Radda has described the senior officer’s death in captivity as a “dark moment” for Nigeria, stating that it serves as a stark, painful reminder of the persistent security challenges plaguing the North-West.
Governor Radda and the Defence Headquarters have both vowed that this tragedy will not break the spirit of the nation’s security forces. Instead, the military has declared an immediate escalation of ongoing operations to aggressively hunt down the perpetrators, dismantle terrorist networks, and ensure absolute justice is served.
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