Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has denied any involvement in the 2019 disappearance of social media activist Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Dadiyata, and instead accused the Kano State Government under former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of responsibility.
Dadiyata, a known critic of Ganduje and a member of the opposition Kwankwasiyya movement, was abducted from his home in Barnawa, Kaduna State, on August 2, 2019. His whereabouts remain unknown despite sustained advocacy from his family and civil society groups.
In an interview with ARISE TV, El-Rufai asserted that Dadiyata was not a critic of his administration. “Dadiyata was not a fierce critic of the Kaduna State Government; he was a fierce critic of the Kano State Government,” El-Rufai stated. He explained that Dadiyata, a Kano native, lived in Kaduna but lectured in Katsina State, and that his Kaduna State government only learned of Dadiyata after his family reported the abduction.
El-Rufai claimed initial investigations indicated the abductors came from Kano. “If anyone should be asked questions about the disappearance of Dadiyata, it is the Kano State Government. It has nothing to do with the Kaduna State Government,” he said, adding he did not know Dadiyata prior to the incident.
The former governor further alleged that a police officer involved in the case later confessed to being sent from Kano. “Three years after Dadiyata’s abduction, a policeman who was posted out of Kano to Ekiti State confessed to someone that they were sent from Kano to abduct Dadiyata, and he felt bad about it,” El-Rufai recounted.
Dadiyata’s disappearance has triggered years of unanswered questions and periodic social media campaigns demanding accountability. While El-Rufai’s name has frequently surfaced in online discussions, his recent comments represent the most direct attribution of blame to a specific former state administration.
The case highlights persistent concerns over enforced disappearances and accountability for security operations in Nigeria. With no resolution nearly five years later, activists continue to press for an independent investigation. The alleged police confession, if substantiated, could provide a new lead, though authorities have not publicly commented on this claim. The Kano State Government has not issued a response to El-Rufai’s accusations.
