Kidnappers Release Video Demanding Prisoners' Freedom

A retired senior Nigerian military officer and his wife have publicly appealed for their release after being held captive for a week by kidnappers in Katsina State. Retired Major General Rabe Abubakar, a former Director of Defence Information and armed forces spokesman, and his wife, Hajiya Amina Abubakar, were shown in a video released by their abductors on Saturday, June 6, 2026, relaying the captors' demands.

The couple was abducted on Saturday, May 30, while traveling along the Marabar Musawa-Kafinsoli road in Matazu Local Government Area, near Zakin Baure village. They were reportedly en route to a wedding when armed men ambushed their red Peugeot vehicle. Their driver, Abdullahi Saidu, was shot in the hand but managed to escape; the general and his wife were taken into a nearby forest. The area is known for recurring incidents of kidnapping and banditry.

In the four-minute video, the captives conveyed specific demands from their abductors. Hajiya Amina Abubakar, speaking in Hausa, pleaded with the Katsina State Government and the chairmen of five local government areas—Matazu, Musawa, Kankia, Tsanyawa, and Kusada—to intervene. The kidnappers are demanding the release of...