Conflicting claims are clouding the abduction of retired Major General Rabe Abubakar Batsari and his wife, as sources now doubt initial reports blaming notorious bandit commander Muhammadu Fulani.
The couple was kidnapped Saturday after gunmen ambushed their vehicle on Marabar Musawa–Kafinsoli road near Zakin Baure village. Their driver was wounded before the attackers dragged them into a nearby forest.
—“Not his style” — Locals push back on Fulani theory—
Initial intelligence linked the attack to Muhammadu Fulani, known for violent operations around Kuki and Sayaya. But security sources in Matazu and Batsari say the hit doesn’t match his pattern.
Residents describe Fulani as a commander for “large-scale, high-visibility assaults meant to maximise fear.” This ambush was small, targeted a single vehicle, and showed “little sign of prior planning.”
“This does not look like his style,” one local source said. “His operations are usually massive and coordinated. This one involved a small group targeting a single vehicle.”
—Was it just opportunistic crime?—
Doubts grew after a military operation earlier this year killed several of Fulani’s fighters and freed dozens of hostages, crippling his network.
More shocking: sources say the gunmen may not have known who they grabbed.
“From what we gathered, they did not even realise they had abducted a retired general. If they knew, the operation would likely have been very different,” a Sayaya resident said.
—North-West banditry is fragmenting—
Security analysts say the attack reflects a new trend: smaller, less structured gangs now operate alongside, or independent of, established bandit networks. That makes kidnaps harder to predict and harder to pin on one kingpin.
Security agencies have not confirmed any group. Search-and-rescue operations for Gen. Batsari and his wife are ongoing.
[Adapted/rejigged from The Star report]
