Former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has revealed that Abubakar Idris, widely known as Dadiyata, was taken from his Kaduna residence by police officers sent from Kano.
During an interview on Arise Television on Friday, Mr. El-Rufai addressed persistent speculation, asserting that Mr. Dadiyata had never been a critic of his government. Instead, he identified the activist as a strong opponent of the former Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje.
"Three years after his abduction, a police officer who was serving in Ekiti State confessed to someone that they were deployed from Kano to abduct Dadiyata and that the officer was troubled by it. That is all I know," Mr. El- Rufai stated.
Mr. El-Rufai maintained that the incident was not a Kaduna State affair, despite its occurrence within the state's boundaries.
He argued that the state could not have provided specific security measures as they were unaware of Dadiyata's grievances with the Kano State Government.
Challenging Amnesty International's description of Dadiyata as a "fierce critic" of the Kaduna State Government, Mr. El-Rufai encouraged an examination of Mr. Dadiyata's social media activity, which he said remains accessible.
According to Mr. El-Rufai, Mr. Dadiyata, who was associated with the Kwankwasiyya movement, directed his criticisms exclusively towards the Kano State Government.
"We only became aware of his existence after his family reported his abduction," El-Rufai added.
"Our investigation, based on family accounts, indicated that the abductors originated from Kano. The Kano State Government should be questioned about Dadiyata's disappearance, not Kaduna."
The disappearance of Dadiyatta
On August 2, 2019, Dadiyata, a 34-year-old lecturer at the Federal University Dutsin-Ma, was intercepted by unknown armed individuals as he entered his compound in Barnawa, Kaduna State.
Mr. Dadiyata was a prominent social media figure and a firm supporter of Rabiu Kwankwaso, the former Governor of Kano.
Following his disappearance, his family and several human rights organizations have initiated multiple legal actions.
In 2020, the Federal High Court in Kaduna issued an order for the State Security Service (SSS) and other security agencies to produce him or release him, but these agencies denied holding him.
Amnesty International and other international monitoring groups have classified his case as an enforced disappearance. His whereabouts have been unknown for over seven years, and no group has officially claimed responsibility for his vanishing.
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