Armed bandits holding retired Major General Rabe Abubakar, a former Director of Defence Information, and his wife have demanded the release of some of their detained members and the return of confiscated livestock before the couple can regain their freedom.
The demand was made public in a video that surfaced on Saturday. The footage showed the retired senior military officer and his wife in captivity, appealing to government authorities and community leaders to intervene in the matter.
In the video, the former army spokesman’s wife called on Katsina State Governor Dikko Umar Radda as well as the chairmen of Matazu, Musawa, Kankia, Charanchi and Kusada Local Government Areas to help secure their release.
She explained that the kidnappers were insisting that three of their arrested members and their seized property must be returned.
“Three of their boys have been arrested, including Aminu, Sani Nasiru and others, and they want them released alongside all their properties, their cows and goats that were captured as well,” she said.
She added, “We are begging all those concerned to help us heed these demands so we can be released. Two of the boys were captured in Jikamshi and the other one was arrested separately, so we are appealing to the government to please adhere to their demands, release them and release their cows.”
Major General Abubakar also appeared briefly in the video, where he appealed for efforts that could lead to a peaceful resolution of the crisis.
Politics Nigeria reports that the retired military officer and his wife were abducted about a week ago while travelling along the Matazu axis of Katsina State. Reports indicated that armed men blocked their vehicle, opened fire and whisked the couple away to an unknown location. Their driver reportedly sustained injuries during the attack but escaped.
