As Major General Rabe Abubakar was lowered into the ground at Gidan Dawa Cemetery, Katsina, a crowd of family, comrades, officials and well-wishers stood in final salute.
Recall that the retired soldier, taken captive with his wife on the Katsina–Matazu road on May 30, 2026, was buried at 6:00 p.m. opposite his home following funeral prayers attended by hundreds.
11 things you probably didn’t know about deceased ex-Army spokesman, Retired Maj Gen Rabe Abubakar
He was born on 7th of April, 1965 in Batsari Local Government Area, Katsina State.
He attended primary and secondary schools in Katsina State.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in History at a Nigerian university (yet unknown).
He was commissioned into the Nigerian Army as a Second Lieutenant in 1989.
He rose to the rank of Major General in the Nigerian Army.
In August 2015, he took over as Defence Spokesman from Maj-Gen Chris Olukolade.
He served as Director of Defence Information, Defence Headquarters, from 2015 to 2017.
As DDI, he was one of the key voices communicating military operations, counter-terrorism, and security updates to the public during the Boko Haram insurgency.
He emphasized media synergy and civil-military relations in his briefings.
On 6 March 2017, Maj-Gen John Enenche replaced him as Defence Spokesman.
Rabe Abubakar was then posted as Director of Information Management, Department of Civil Military Affairs, Army Headquarters.
