Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has denied any responsibility in the disappearance of Abubakar Dadiyata, the lecturer and social media commentator who was abducted from his residence in Kaduna in 2019 and has remained missing since.
Dadiyata, a vocal online critic, was reportedly seized by unidentified gunmen on August 1, 2019, as he returned to his home in Kaduna.
His case has since drawn sustained attention from rights groups, including Amnesty International, which classified the incident as an enforced disappearance and repeatedly called for an independent investigation.
Speaking during an interview, El-Rufai on Friday, dismissed suggestions that his administration bore responsibility, insisting that critics were “totally wrong” to link the Kaduna State government to the abduction.
He explained that Dadiyata was not a fierce critic of his administration but of the Kano State government under former Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje.
“Dadiyata was not a fierce critic of Kaduna State government. He was a fierce critic of Kano State government,” El-Rufai said, adding that although Dadiyata resided in Kaduna and lectured at a university in Katsina State, his online attacks were directed at Kano authorities.
El-Rufai acknowledged that Dadiyata lived in Kaduna and, as such, fell under the state’s jurisdiction.
However, he claimed his government was unaware of Dadiyata before the abduction.
“We didn’t even know he existed until he was abducted,” he said, noting that the family reported the incident to the police after he was taken by gunmen in the evening.
The former governor further alleged that preliminary information suggested the abductors came from Kano State.
He also claimed that about three years after the incident, a police officer allegedly posted from Kano to Ekiti State confided in someone that officers were sent from Kano to abduct Dadiyata.
Read also:
- I’ve no conflict with Tinubu, but efforts to oust APC have begun-El-Rufai
- Reno Omokri calls for El-Rufai prosecution over alleged human rights violations
- El-Rufai’s Lawyers allege unlawful arrest attempt at Abuja Airport, demand return of Passport
“That’s the only thing I know,” El-Rufai said, insisting the matter “was not a Kaduna State problem.”
He argued that while it was the duty of the Kaduna State government to protect residents, it would have been impossible to provide specific protection to someone the government did not know or identify as being under threat.
Dadiyata’s disappearance has remained unresolved nearly seven years later, with no official findings made public and no one prosecuted.
Rights advocates continue to demand accountability, maintaining that the circumstances surrounding the abduction raise serious concerns about state complicity or, at minimum, a failure of protection.
