The Department of State Services has confirmed that it is investigating former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and his son over their alleged involvement in the 2019 disappearance of Abubakar Idris, widely known as Dadiyata, and has explained why his passport was seized at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
A senior security source disclosed on Monday that the seizure of El-Rufai’s passport last Thursday was a preventive measure to stop him from leaving Nigeria for Egypt after a brief visit to the country.
According to the source, the former governor was aware that he was under investigation in connection with the Dadiyata case and had planned to visit the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Crimes Commission before returning to Cairo. The action of the DSS, the source said, disrupted that travel plan.
The security agency also revealed that the reopening of the Dadiyata case followed months of investigation. Preliminary findings, according to the source, suggested that El-Rufai, who was governor of Kaduna State at the time of the incident, had knowledge relating to the disappearance.
Dadiyata, a lecturer in the Department of English and Linguistics at the Federal University Dutsinma in Katsina State, was declared missing on August 1, 2019, after gunmen reportedly abducted him from his residence in Kaduna. His whereabouts remain unknown, and the case drew widespread attention from civil society groups and international organisations, including Amnesty International.
During a recent appearance on Arise TV, El-Rufai stated that he became aware of an alleged confession by a police officer who claimed to have been part of a team sent from Kano to abduct Dadiyata. He said the officer, later posted to Ekiti State, reportedly confided in someone that he had participated in the operation and felt troubled by it.
The former governor denied any personal knowledge of Dadiyata, describing him as a supporter of the Kwankwasiyya movement and a political opponent of former Kano State governor Abdullahi Ganduje. He maintained that if any authority should be questioned about the disappearance, it was the Kano State government, not Kaduna State.
The security source, however, expressed doubt over El-Rufai’s account, questioning why such information, if truly known to him, was not immediately reported to law enforcement agencies. The source noted that the abduction occurred in Kaduna in 2019 and had attracted international scrutiny, making any credible lead a matter of urgent public interest.
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According to the official, investigators are examining whether El-Rufai shared the alleged confession with relevant authorities or his successor in office. The source further alleged that El-Rufai and his two sons are aware of the ongoing probe.
The official also cited provisions of the Criminal Code Act and the Penal Code applicable in Kaduna State, which impose a duty on citizens to assist in crime reporting and prohibit the concealment or destruction of evidence. Section 123 of the Criminal Code Act, the source noted, addresses the wilful suppression of evidence, while other sections deal with aiding suspects or covering up serious offences.
The DSS has not issued a formal public statement detailing the scope of the investigation, but the development marks a significant turn in the long-running Dadiyata case, which has remained unresolved for more than six years.
