Retired Major General Rabe Abubakar, a former spokesman for the Nigerian army, has died while being held captive by gunmen who abducted him in Katsina state in the country's north-west, the Nigerian military has confirmed. Abubakar, reported to have been 61 years old, was seized on 30 May when armed men attacked his vehicle as he travelled to a wedding in his hometown. His wife and their driver were taken alongside him.

Days before news of his death emerged, a video circulated on social media appearing to show Abubakar in captivity with an apparent injury to his left leg, alongside his wife and other hostages. The military said it had deliberately withheld public comment on the abduction while rescue efforts were under way, deploying what it described as "every operational resource" in hopes of securing his safe return. Those efforts ultimately proved unsuccessful. The whereabouts and condition of his wife remain unknown; she is still believed to be held by the kidnappers.

President Bola Tinubu expressed shock and sadness at the death, and revealed that the captors had demanded the release of their arrested colleagues as a condition for freeing Abubakar — a demand the government flatly rejected. "The government will never bow to their demand to release their members held by our security agencies," a presidential statement read, adding that "bandits, kidnappers, and sponsors of terror should surrender or face the full force of the Nigerian state."

The abduction and death of a figure of Abubakar's standing throws a sharp light on the persistent security crisis gripping north-west Nigeria. Katsina state, which borders Niger to the north, has been among the regions worst affected by violence from criminal gangs — known locally as "bandits" — who carry out kidnappings for ransom, engage in cattle rustling, and attack rural communities. Militant jihadist groups have also operated in the broader region; an alleged militant camp in neighbouring Sokoto state was targeted in a US airstrike on 25 December last year.

The Nigerian military paid tribute to Abubakar, citing his "immense contributions to counter-insurgency operations" and describing the loss as tragic. The armed forces said ongoing operations had been further intensified to bring those responsible to justice and to "dismantle all terrorist networks threatening our nation." For many Nigerians, the fact that a decorated retired general could be kidnapped and killed with apparent impunity underscores just how far the security situation in the north-west remains from being resolved.