Students, Generals, Anyone, Anywhere: Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis has no limits
The kidnapping of retired Major General Rabe Abubakar and his wife in Katsina state over the weekend is more than a crime story, and it raises more questions about the state of security in the country.
The retired General Abubakar is not an anonymous civilian as his title suggests. However, he was not an anonymous officer while in service either. The two-star general served as the face and voice of the Nigerian military from 2015 to 2017, standing before cameras and journalists to project the institution’s authority and competence.
That such a figure could be pulled from his vehicle on a public road, in broad daylight, while travelling to a wedding, speaks to an audacity that should alarm policymakers far beyond Katsina’s borders.
Katsina has long been a ground for the overlapping crises of banditry, kidnapping-for-ransom, and jihadist attacks that define the north-west’s security emergency. The timing of this abduction makes it even more alarming. Just 24 hours earlier, on Friday, armed men descended on Kiliya village in Dutsinma Local Government Area, killing at least 16 people during Eid al-Adha celebrations.
Abductions and reprisal killings have become a regular occurrence in the news. According to the consulting firm Nextier, 2,452 individuals were kidnapped during the year 2024, a 31 % rise over the 1,878 victims of kidnapping recorded in 2023.
“Apart from killing people, gunmen are now on a rampage of abductions – largely for lucrative ransom. Some stay months at the mercy of gunmen in punishing situations. Estimates of the number of abductions by gunmen and armed groups across Nigeria vary, and some of the commonly cited figures vastly understate the scale of the problem,” said Isa Sanusi, Director, Amnesty International Nigeria, in April 2026.
Unfortunately, the trajectory is not improving, and the kidnapping of a high-profile retired military officer is the latest visible data point in that trend. General Abubakar’s abduction comes barely two weeks after the kidnapping of pupils and teachers from Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School on May 15.
In response, the Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, led a high-powered delegation to Ogbomoso that included a constellation of Nigeria’s entire security forces arriving in a South-West town to reassure grieving parents and community leaders. The President also approved the recruitment of 1,000 forest guards for Oyo State and directed the deployment of a specialised rescue unit.
The deployment of 1,000 forest guards after the abduction is commendable, even if late. The Forest corridors in Oyo and the Middle Belt have been considered vulnerable for years, and hiring guards highlights the concerns raised by local communities.
Community leaders were told that establishing a military base would be proposed to President Tinubu. However, with children still missing, the delay between a delegation visit and real action only heightens anxiety. Intelligence-driven rescue operations should focus on victim safety, but the government must avoid staging rescues for political optics at the cost of lives.
Nigeria is facing a crisis not merely of criminality, but of territorial control. Armed non-state actors, whether labelled bandits, kidnappers, or herdsmen, have established operational freedom across a growing arc of Nigerian territory. They choose their targets, set their timelines, and exploit the state’s response gaps with increasing sophistication.
The profile of victims no longer provides protection. Not retired generals. Not schoolchildren. Not Eid worshippers. Not rural farmers. The indiscriminate reach of these groups is itself a tactic: it maximises fear, suppresses economic activity, and erodes the social contract between citizens and the state.
