Mike Odeh James
The leader of the armed group holding retired Major General Rabe Abubakar and his wife hostage, Muhammadu Kachalla Fulani, has explained why he reversed an earlier decision to release the former military officer’s wife.
In an audio recording that circulated online, captured during a conversation between the Chairman of Matazu County and Kachalla, the bandit commander said he had agreed to release the general’s wife but abandoned the plan after a heavy deployment of security personnel to the Matazu area.
“I promised the General that I would release his wife, but the heavy deployment of security personnel in the area made me change my mind. If I had released her, they would have taken her to the Matazu police station and claimed they rescued her,” Kachalla said.
The bandit commander also threatened to kill General Rabe if any of his family members were among those arrested by authorities.
“Even if 1,000 soldiers are deployed, they will not find where the General is being held. If my mother or father had been among those arrested, I swear I would have killed the General today to show the government that it cannot intimidate us,” he said.
Kachalla demanded the withdrawal of security forces from the area as a precondition for meaningful peace negotiations. He reiterated earlier demands for the release of three persons in government custody and the return of livestock he said were seized during security operations in the Jikamshi area.
He promised to vacate the area and halt attacks if those conditions were met.
The bandit commander further alleged that he had honored a previous peace agreement but accused government officials of failing to fulfill their own commitments.
Katsina Government Confident of Rescue
The Katsina State Government has expressed confidence that ongoing security operations will lead to the rescue of General Rabe and his wife.
In a statement issued Saturday by the Commissioner for Information and Culture, Dr. Bala Salisu Zango, the government said collaboration between security agencies and intelligence-gathering institutions had reached an encouraging stage.
The statement said Governor Dikko Umaru Radda immediately directed security agencies to make the rescue of the couple a priority following news of the abduction.
According to the government, preliminary investigations indicate that the kidnappers specifically targeted General Rabe and his wife, allegedly tracking their movements from Kaduna before carrying out the attack.
“The way this attack was carried out indicates that it was a carefully planned operation specifically targeting these individuals. This has changed our assessment of the situation and our response strategy. The government is working around the clock, using technology and intelligence resources to locate the kidnappers,” the statement said.
The government described the abduction as the work of a well-organized criminal group and warned that the targeted surveillance of high-profile individuals represented a troubling new tactic by armed groups operating in Nigeria’s North-West region.
Officials said security agencies were pursuing multiple leads and employing intelligence-driven operations to locate the victims and dismantle the network responsible for the kidnapping.
The government reaffirmed its commitment to rescuing the couple safely, apprehending those responsible, and ensuring they face prosecution. It also urged the families of the victims and members of the public to remain calm as security operations continue.
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