Amina Abubakar was shot by her abductors before being abandoned during a military operation, officials have said
Nigerian troops have rescued the wife of a retired major general who died after the couple was taken hostage by armed militants several weeks ago, the West African country’s military has said.
Amina Abubakar, the widow of Major General Rabe Abubakar, a former director of defense information, was freed during an operation which the army conducted with support from the Nigerian Air Force, military spokesman Major General Samaila Uba said in a statement on Monday.
The troops made contact with the kidnappers at Tunga village in Katsina State after “sustained offensive operations and pressure mounted on the criminal elements,” Uba said.
“The bandits shot Mrs. Abubakar before abandoning her and fleeing due to the overwhelming pressure from advancing troops,” he added.
She has been evacuated to a military hospital and is responding to treatment, the statement said, adding that the Nigerian Armed Forces will continue operations “to track down and neutralize the perpetrators.”
In a separate statement on Wednesday, the army said four other victims of hostage takers had been rescued in Katsina State during an operation targeting the network of militant leader Kachalla Muhammadu Fulani. According to the military, preliminary investigations showed that the victims were abducted on April 14 from Sabon Sara along the Matazu-Karaduwa road and were held alongside the late General Abubakar and his wife.
Abubakar’s death was confirmed by military officials on Saturday. They said they had avoided public comment on the abduction while efforts to secure his release were still underway.
Africa’s most populous nation has faced years of violence from armed gangs, especially in the northwest, where kidnappings for ransom, cattle rustling, and village raids have become frequent. Amnesty International said in a recent report that at least 1,100 people had been abducted across northern Nigeria between January and April this year.
The latest rescue comes amid a string of recent attacks. In May, the army said it rescued seven children and two women who were among dozens abducted from an Islamic orphanage in Kogi State. In April, troops rescued 31 people taken during an Easter church service in Kaduna State, while gunmen killed at least 20 people and abducted others in raids on villages in Niger State.
The security crisis has also spread across other regions. Suspected Boko Haram militants killed at least 20 people in attacks on communities in Borno and Adamawa states in April, days after militants linked to Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province killed at least seven troops in an assault on an army base near the border with Chad.
