Fresh details have emerged about the terrifying ordeal endured by retired Major General Rabe Abubakar and his wife, Amina, during their captivity in the forests of Katsina State after they were abducted by bandits.
For days, the couple remained trapped deep inside a remote forest hideout, surrounded by armed captors and cut off from the outside world. While many questions lingered about their fate, accounts from sources familiar with Amina’s testimony paint a heartbreaking picture of suffering, loss, and survival.
The General’s Final Days
According to those who spoke with Amina after her rescue, the retired military officer was in good health when he and his wife were kidnapped. However, conditions in captivity soon took a devastating turn.
At one point, Amina noticed that her husband’s leg had become badly swollen. Alarmed by the sudden change in his condition, she drew the attention of their captors. The bandits reportedly informed her that he had likely been bitten by a snake.
Their response was crude and inadequate. They gathered leaves, crushed them into a paste, and applied the mixture to the affected area. But the swelling worsened, and General Rabe’s condition deteriorated rapidly.
Helpless and isolated in the wilderness, Amina watched as her husband’s strength faded.
Despite her efforts to comfort him, there was little she could do. Far from medical care and surrounded by men who showed little concern for his worsening condition, the retired general continued to decline.
Then came the moment that would haunt her forever.
According to her account, General Rabe died in her arms.
The man who had spent decades serving his country reportedly took his final breath while his wife held him, powerless to save him. Deep in the forest, with no doctor, no medicine, and no hope of immediate rescue, Amina was left to confront the unbearable reality that she had lost her husband in captivity.
Chaos After His Death
The general’s death appeared to trigger panic among the bandits.
Shortly afterward, the kidnappers reportedly became restless and agitated. Something had changed. Fearing an approaching military operation, they hurriedly prepared to abandon their hideout.
Motorcycles were assembled, belongings gathered, and escape plans put into motion.
Amina, still grieving and exhausted, was forced onto one of the motorcycles as the kidnappers fled through the forest in a desperate convoy.
As they raced through the bush, distant gunfire echoed across the landscape.
The sound threw the bandits into confusion.
Instead of moving as a coordinated group, they scattered in different directions, each rider trying to save himself. In the chaos, the man transporting Amina reportedly became frustrated and stopped abruptly.
What happened next nearly cost her life.
He ordered her off the motorcycle and, before fleeing, shot her in the thigh.
The bullet tore through the flesh of her upper leg, leaving her bleeding heavily and unable to walk.
Abandoned in the wilderness, wounded and alone, Amina believed her ordeal had reached its final chapter.
Left for Dead
As blood poured from her wound, she lay stranded in the bush, unable to move.
Every minute that passed increased the risk that she would either bleed to death or be recaptured.
Then, unexpectedly, help appeared.
A man from a nearby settlement approached and found the injured woman lying in distress. Frightened and exhausted, she recounted her ordeal.
When he realized who she was, he attempted to assist her.
But before help could arrive, the sound of gunfire rang out once more.
Fearing for his own safety as security forces closed in on the area, the man fled.
The Rescue
Moments later, soldiers conducting search-and-rescue operations arrived.
As they moved through the area, they discovered the wounded woman and quickly confirmed her identity.
After days of uncertainty and an intensive search effort, they had found General Rabe’s wife alive.
The atmosphere reportedly changed instantly. Relief swept through the troops as they realized the significance of the discovery.
The civilian who had first found her soon returned, and together they improvised a way to evacuate her. With no stretcher available, a wooden plank was brought and used to carry the wounded woman to a waiting vehicle.
She was rushed from the forest to a nearby medical facility for emergency treatment before being transferred to the Federal Medical Centre in Katsina.
Doctors later determined that, although the bullet had passed through her thigh without shattering the bone, the injury could easily have become fatal because of the severe blood loss she suffered.
Against the odds, she survived.
Her rescue brought an end to a nightmare that had begun with an ambush on a Katsina road and ended with the death of her husband in captivity, a gunshot wound, and a dramatic recovery from the depths of the forest.
While General Rabe never made it home, his wife emerged as the sole witness to his final moments—a tragedy marked by loss, endurance, and a rescue that came just in time.
● Detailed report available in Weekend Trust (of Daily Trust).