OBITUARY: Rabe Abubakar: The army general lost to insecurity

For years, Rabe Abubakar, a Nigerian Army major-general, spoke from podiums and press briefings about jihadists, bandits and other terrorists wreaking havoc across the country.

He amplified military operational gains, explained the setbacks, disputed allegations and reassured nervous civilians that the war was being won by the military.

In death, the former military spokesperson found himself once more in the middle of the insecurity that had defined the last days of his military career.

To many Nigerians, he was one of the most familiar voices of the country’s security establishment during the peak years of the Boko Haram insurgency.

He stood before cameras when soldiers captured terrorist strongholds. He defended the military when international organisations accused it of abuses. He challenged critics, disputed reports and urged Nigerians not to lose faith in the armed forces, a tradition that has continued to be practised by his successors.

Yet Mr Abubakar’s story was never merely about military communications. It was the story of a soldier tasked with speaking for an institution fighting one of the most complex wars in Nigeria’s history, an insurgency that has now engulfed the Lake Chad region.

Mr Abubakar was born on 7 April, 1965 and hailed from Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina State. Although publicly available biographies indicate that he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History before joining the Nigerian Army, the university he attended cannot be independently verified from available records.

The late general built his career largely away from public attention. Before becoming the defence spokesperson, he spent years in military service, rising through the ranks and serving in various command and administrative capacities.

He served as the Coordinator of the Joint Media Centre at the Headquarters of the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, Commandant of the Nigerian Army School of Public Relations and Information (NASPRI) in Lagos, and Executive Director of Corporate Affairs at Nigerian Army Welfare Limited.

Mr Abubakar also attended numerous professional and military courses, including the Company Amphibious Course at the National Defence College in China. Outside his military duties, he enjoyed jogging, badminton and reading. He was married and had children.

The appointment came at a critical moment. Nigeria was intensifying military operations against Boko Haram, while public confidence in security institutions was under scrutiny, and the Defence Headquarters, perhaps, needed a spokesperson capable of articulating military strategy, managing public expectations, and responding to growing international attention.

Upon taking office, he emphasised cooperation among security agencies, the media and the public in confronting terrorism. He repeatedly argued that the battle against insurgency was not solely a military contest but also an information war.

“You know that terrorists thrive on information and hence there is also the need to bring a counter communication and information strategy,” he had said.

His arrival coincided with the early months of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, when military authorities sought to project renewed momentum against Boko Haram after years of devastating attacks across the North-east.

In the months that followed, Mr Abubakar emerged as one of the military’s most visible public representatives. Daily briefings, press statements and media appearances transformed him from a relatively unknown officer into a prominent national figure.

Mr Abubakar, who succeeded Chris Olukolade, a major general, as defence spokesperson, left that office in March 2017 and handed over to John Enenche.

He was subsequently redeployed to the army headquarters from where he bowed out of service.

His tenure unfolded during one of the most consequential phases of Nigeria’s fight against Boko Haram.

Military offensives succeeded in recapturing several territories previously held by insurgents, including Bama, Banki, Baga, Gwoza, Dikwa and others. Sambisa Forest, long regarded as a symbol of Boko Haram’s strength, came under sustained military pressure. Scores of camps were destroyed, and authorities reported the rescue of abductees and the surrender of fighters. However, a large part of the forest reserve remains under terrorists’ control.

His task was often difficult. Every military success was weighed against fresh attacks, suicide bombings and reports of civilian casualties. Nigerians wanted evidence that the insurgency was truly weakening, while military authorities sought to maintain morale and public confidence.

No statement better captured this challenge than his repeated defence of official claims that Boko Haram had been effectively defeated.

Several statements issued by Mr Abubakar came to define his years as defence spokesperson.

The first concerned the government’s assertion that Boko Haram had been “technically defeated.”

Echoing the position of President Buhari and military commanders, Mr Abubakar argued that the insurgents had lost their ability to hold territory and function as a conventional fighting force.

In October 2016, he described continuing attacks as “the last kicking of a dying group,” insisting that the terrorists no longer posed the threat they once did.

The statement was widely scrutinised. Supporters pointed to military gains across the North-east as evidence that the assessment was justified. Critics argued that suicide bombings and attacks on civilians demonstrated that Boko Haram remained dangerous despite territorial losses.

Another defining aspect of his public communication was his insistence that terrorism thrived on publicity. He frequently urged journalists to exercise caution in reporting insurgent activities, arguing that sensational coverage sometimes amplified terrorist propaganda.

A third recurring theme was his defence of military professionalism. Whenever allegations emerged concerning misconduct by troops, Mr Abubakar consistently maintained that the armed forces operated within established rules of engagement and remained committed to protecting civilians.

These statements made him both respected and controversial, depending on one’s perspective.

Mr Abubakar’s role inevitably placed him at the centre of controversy.

One of the most prominent disputes arose from reports by Amnesty International alleging human rights abuses by Nigerian troops during counter-insurgency operations.

The organisation accused military authorities of unlawful killings, arbitrary detentions and poor detention conditions, particularly at Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri.

Mr Abubakar strongly rejected the allegations, linking Amnesty to terror groups. The rights group responded by defending its findings and disputing aspects of Mr Abubakar’s account.