ABUJA, Nigeria — Gunmen have shot and killed a senior officer of the Nigerian Army, Major General Hassan Ahmed, in the Abaji area of Abuja, before abducting his wife.
The attack occurred along the Abuja-Lokoja highway as the general and his wife were returning from Okene in Kogi State.
The Ambush
According to military sources, the assailants emerged from the bushes and opened fire on the vehicle conveying the couple. Major General Ahmed was shot and killed on the spot during the volley of gunfire.
The driver of the vehicle managed to survive the onslaught by pretending to be dead after sustaining minor injuries. Once the gunfire ceased, the gunmen forcefully took the officer’s wife from the vehicle and fled into the surrounding forest.
Military Profile
Prior to his death, Major General Hassan Ahmed served as a director at the Army Headquarters following a recent posting by the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya.
Ahmed was widely respected within military circles, having previously held the prestigious position of Provost Marshal of the Nigerian Army, where he oversaw military discipline and police duties.
Security Concerns Escalate
The high-profile assassination has thrown the military command into mourning and heightened security anxieties within the Federal Capital Territory. The Lokoja-Abuja expressway has faced recurring incidents of highway banditry and kidnappings, but the targeted killing of a two-star general marks a severe escalation in regional insecurity.
The Nigerian Army is yet to issue an official statement on the killing, but a massive mobilization of troops and intelligence operatives has commenced across the Abaji and Kogi boundary lines to track down the assailants and secure the release of the abducted wife.
