Two weeks on, the Nigeria Police Force and Nigerian Army have shared no updates on the kidnapping of retired army general Maharazu Tsiga in Katsina State. Recent claims from witnesses indicate that notorious bandit leader Babaro abducted Tsiga.

In spite of this possibility, the army and police remain mute. Neither of the spokespersons of these security agencies responded to FIJ’s request for comments on Saturday.

FIJ reported that Tsiga, a former director general of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), was abducted in his Katsina home in early February.

READ MORE: Kidnappers Want N250m Ransom for Abducted Ex-NYSC DG

Gunmen were said to have surrounded the former NYSC DG’s residence in the middle of the night before kidnapping him and nine others.

After Tsiga spent a week in captivity, FIJ learnt that the kidnappers were demanding a N250 million ransom to release him.

DSP Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu, the Katsina police spokesperson, had also told FIJ that the command was aware of the incident and had launched a manhunt to secure Tsiga’s release.

However, On Saturday morning, an X post by security analyst Bakatsine stated that the retired army general was kidnapped by Babaro and was being held hostage in Bununu Forest in Katsina.

“Brigadier General Maharazu Tsiga was kidnapped by the infamous bandit leader Babaro and is being held hostage in Bununu Forest, located in Faskari LGA, with border with Ƙankara LGA all in Katsina State,” he wrote.

According to the security analyst, this information was revealed by people from the Kandarawa Community in Bakori Local Government Area, Katsina, who Babaro abducted on January 14.

“After paying a ransom of N30 million, they were released and informed their families that they had seen Gen. Tsiga in captivity,” Bakatsine wrote on Saturday.

“According to them, he was still being held when they left, but he was receiving proper care, including being provided with bottled water.”

READ ALSO: Kidnappers Hold Kaduna Corps Member to N500m Ransom

The security analyst noted that Babaro was a notorious bandit responsible for numerous attacks in various communities of Ƙankara, Malumfashi, Bakori, Faskari and Funtua LGAs.

NO RESPONSE FROM POLICE, ARMY

Calls put across to Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, the army spokesperson, and Katsina police spokesperson Aliyu on Saturday went unanswered.

Both men had also not responded to the messages FIJ sent to them at press time.

Furthermore, FIJ found no official statement on the social media pages of the Katsina police and the army regarding Tsiga’s abduction.