Nigeria, June 14 -- 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...