Hajiya Amina Abubakar, widow of the Late retired Major-General Abubakar Rabe, remains in bandits’ captivity two weeks after she was abducted with her husband along the Marabar Musawa–Kafinsoli road in Matazu LGA, Katsina State.
The couple was last seen in a viral video relaying the abductors’ demands for the release of three detained members — Sani, Aminu, and Nasiru — and the return of seized livestock. Yesterday, Katsina Commissioner for Internal Security, Nasiru Mu’azu, announced that Rabe had died in custody from “complications of diabetes and hypertension,”, even as efforts to rescue his wife continue.
Security sources say operations are ongoing to free Hajiya Amina, but declined to provide details or a timeline. Complicating rescue efforts, notorious bandit kingpin Kachalla Muhammad claimed, in an audio message, that he suspended plans to release her because of “heavy presence of security personnel” in the area. Kachalla said he changed his mind so that security agencies would not “take credit” for her release, and expressed anger over recent arrests of his men. He insisted that freeing three suspects in government custody and returning cattle seized in Jiƙamshi could “pave the way for peace and an end to attacks”.
The Late general and his wife were abducted on May 30 while traveling for a wedding. In the four-minute video, Hajiya Amina had appealed to the Katsina State government and leaders of five LGAs to meet the bandits’ demands to secure their release. With Rabe now dead and his widow still held, pressure is mounting on authorities to clarify their negotiation stance and rescue strategy.
The state government has yet to state whether it will engage with Kachalla’s demands as families of kidnap victims across the North-West region watch anxiously.
