Security analyst and lawyer, Bulama Bukarti, has raised the alarm over what he described as the worsening and nationwide expansion of insecurity in Nigeria, following the killing of retired Major General Rabe Abubakar while in bandits’ captivity.
Bukarti, who spoke on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, said the incident reflects a disturbing trend in which criminal groups are becoming increasingly emboldened and expanding their reach across multiple regions of the country.
He described the killing of the former senior military officer as “a big shocker,” warning that it exposes deep cracks in the nation’s security architecture and response capacity.
“If a retired military general and former spokesperson of the Nigerian Army could be abducted, held for about two weeks and eventually killed, it tells us that no Nigerian is safe,” he said.
According to him, the circumstances surrounding the abduction further demonstrate how far insecurity has spread beyond isolated hotspots, noting that such incidents now occur even in areas previously considered relatively safe.
Bukarti said the retired general was reportedly kidnapped along a public highway in Matazu Local Government Area of Katsina State, a development he said underscores the growing brazenness of armed groups operating in the country.
He further observed that the abductors openly publicised the incident and engaged in negotiations with authorities, a situation he said signals a worrying shift in the operational tactics of criminal gangs.
“They publicly paraded him on television and social media and openly negotiated with the government, demanding the release of their members in exchange for him,” he said.
The security expert warned that such actions are deliberately designed to instil fear among citizens and weaken public confidence in government institutions and security agencies.
Bukarti added that the inability to secure the release of the retired general before his death points to an escalating crisis that is no longer confined to any particular region.
“What was once confined to the North-East has spread to the North-West, the North-Central, and now the South-West. Nigeria’s security threat is now a national problem rather than a regional one,” he said.
The Katsina State Government had earlier confirmed the death of Major General Rabe Abubakar, a former spokesperson of the Nigerian Army, after he was abducted and held by armed bandits.
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