A retired Nigerian general and his wife have been kidnapped from their home in Kaduna State, prompting an offer of counter-terrorism assistance from the United Kingdom. The abduction occurred late Tuesday night when gunmen stormed the residence of Major General Ishaya Joel Zamani (retired) in the Ungwan Dosa area, a previously quiet residential district. The attackers, reportedly numbering over a dozen, overpowered security guards before forcing the couple into waiting vehicles.
No group has yet claimed responsibility, but suspicion falls on armed bandits and jihadist factions active in northwestern Nigeria. The UK’s offer of expertise, conveyed through the British High Commission in Abuja, underscores the deteriorating security situation in a region once considered stable. For the Zamani family, the kidnapping is a personal trauma compounded by the helplessness of a state that still struggles to protect its citizens.
The retired general, who served in peacekeeping missions in Liberia and Sierra Leone, is not a wealthy man; his pension is modest. Yet in Nigeria’s kidnapping economy, any military figure is seen as a potential payday. The incident comes amid a surge in abductions for ransom, often targeting the elderly and vulnerable.
Local vigilante groups have begun searches in the surrounding forests, but the couple’s fate remains unknown. For ordinary Nigerians, this is another reminder that no one is safe. The UK’s offer, while welcome, raises questions: Why is foreign expertise needed when the Nigerian military has spent billions on counter-insurgency?
And what comfort does this bring to the families of the thousands kidnapped each year? As diplomatic cables are exchanged, the Zamanis wait in darkness.
