Abducted general, wife appeal for rescue in new video
A retired Major General, Abubakar Rabe, and his wife, who were abducted along the Karaduwa-Matazu Road in Katsina State exactly one week ago, have appealed to the government to secure their release.
The appeal was contained in a video released by their abductors and circulated on social media. In the four-minute, two-second footage, the couple was seen standing in captivity while conveying the demands of their captors.
Speaking in the video, the wife of the retired army officer said the abductors were demanding the release of three individuals identified as Sani, Aminu and Nasiru.
The gunmen also demanded the return of livestock allegedly seized from them.
According to her, two of the detained individuals were arrested in Jilamshi, while the third was arrested in Kano.
She appealed to the Katsina State Government and leaders of five local government areas to facilitate compliance with the abductors’ demands to secure their freedom.
The retired general, who spoke briefly in the video, called for efforts to promote peace, saying the abductors had expressed interest in dialogue rather than the use of force and were seeking peaceful coexistence.
No ransom demand was mentioned throughout the video.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the Katsina State Government nor security agencies had issued an official statement on the video.
Rabe was reportedly travelling to Katsina on Saturday with his wife, Hajiya Aminah Abubakar, and their driver, Abdullahi Sa’idu, when their vehicle was ambushed along the Marabar Musa-Kafinsoli Road in Matazu Local Government Area.
The attack occurred near Zakin Baure village, where eyewitnesses said armed men, suspected to be bandits, emerged from hiding, blocked the road and opened fire on the vehicle, forcing it to stop.
A source familiar with the incident told Daily Trust that the driver sustained a gunshot wound to the hand during the attack but was later spared by the attackers.
Sources also told Daily Trust that a notorious bandit kingpin operating in parts of Katsina State established contact with the family of the retired general on Monday morning.
