Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has accused ex-Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, of being behind the disappearance of social media commentator Abubakar Idris, also known as Dadiyata.
El-Rufai denied any involvement, saying Dadiyata’s issues were with the former Kano administration, not Kaduna.
In an interview with Arise News on Friday, El-Rufai said he had no knowledge of Dadiyata during his time in office.
“Dadiyata was not a fierce critic of the Kaduna state government. He was a fierce critic of the Kano state government. He is a Kwankwasiya guy, he lives in Kaduna and lectures at a university in Kaduna State, but is a fierce critic not of Kaduna State. Go and review his timeline,” El-Rufai said.
He added: “It was Ganduje that was his problem. I didn’t even know him. We only got the report of Dadiyata’s existence and the fact that he lives in Kaduna State after the family reported to the police that he was abducted as he was returning home in the evening. When we investigated, all that we could gather from his family was that the abductors came, and they came from Kano.
“If anybody is to be asked about the disappearance of Dadiyata, it is the Kano state government; it has nothing to do with the Kaduna state government. We didn’t even know he existed, and trust me, he was not a fierce critic. I didn’t even know he existed until he was abducted.
“Three years after Dadiyata was abducted, a policeman who was posted out of Kano to Ekiti state confessed to someone that they were sent from Kano and they abducted Dadiyata, and he felt bad about it. That’s the only thing I know, it was not a Kaduna State problem.”
Dadiyata is widely known for criticizing governments, especially in northern Nigeria. He was abducted in 2019, and his disappearance led to public outrage and calls for an investigation.
