Dadiyata: I Had No Role, No Prior Knowledge — El-Rufai Breaks Silence on Abduction Claims

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has dismissed allegations linking him to the abduction of social media commentator Abubakar Idris, widely known as Dadiyata, stating that he neither knew the activist nor had any involvement in his disappearance.

Speaking during an appearance on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme on Friday, the former governor said he only became aware of Dadiyata after the family reported his disappearance to security agencies.

According to him, the missing commentator was more critical of the Kano State Government than Kaduna, stressing that there was no conflict between Dadiyata and his administration.

El-Rufai explained that information available to him indicated the critic’s disputes were tied to political actors in Kano. He added that a security source allegedly revealed days after the incident that operatives were dispatched from Kano in connection with the abduction.

Dadiyata was taken by unidentified gunmen from his residence in Barnawa, Kaduna, on August 1, 2019, a case that has continued to generate controversy and public debate years later.

The former governor maintained that Kaduna State authorities were not connected to the incident and insisted that claims suggesting otherwise are unfounded.