How bandit spy network tracked,target-mapped retired General

Infamous bandit leader Kachalla Muhammadu has reportedly released an audio recording confirming that the recently abducted former military spokesperson, retired Major General Rabe Abubakar, is alive and being held under his direct command.

A notorious bandit leader operating across Nigeria’s volatile North-West region, identified as Kachalla Muhammadu, has reportedly released a voice message confirming that the recently abducted former military spokesperson, Major General Rabe Abubakar (Rtd.), is alive and being held hostage at an armed hideout. Muhammadu, a prominent militant figure from the Sabon Sara enclave under Karaduwa District, allegedly detailed the high-profile operation in an audio brief intercepted by intelligence sources. The chilling confirmation comes just days after the retired general—who served as Nigeria’s Director of Defence Information between 2015 and 2017—was violently ambushed and snatched alongside his wife while traveling along the highway.

The leaked recording has heightened acute fears over the alarming sophistication, premeditation, and surveillance capabilities deployed by regional bandit syndicates targeting top-tier citizens. In the audio brief, Kachalla Muhammadu—who previously participated in a government-backed peace arrangement with armed groups—sought to dispel rumors surrounding the retired general’s condition, with an active source quoting the kingpin as declaring: “General Rabe Abubakar is with them and he is healthy.” The message further exposed that the criminal network had placed the retired senior officer under close electronic or physical surveillance long before the actual hit, tracking his daily movements and departure routines all the way from his residence in Kaduna State.

According to the operational details disclosed by the bandit boss, the gang had originally mapped out a tactical plan to intercept General Abubakar at the strategic Musawa junction, anticipating that his vehicle would follow the route heading toward the Gidan Mutum Daya axis. The group had carefully calculated the dividing points of the highway, where the road separates into two distinct routes, one leading toward Musawa and the other toward Gidan Mutum Daya. A source familiar with the intercepted briefing explained that the gang’s advanced surveillance team had received detailed information regarding the times the general usually departed his residence, making the high-profile target highly vulnerable once he crossed into the North-West’s interior transit routes. Coordinated search-and-rescue teams have since expanded operations into the surrounding forests.

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