Ganduje Reacts to El-Rufai’s Claim Linking Him to Dadiyata’s Disappearance

Abdullahi Ganduje has dismissed allegations by Nasir El-Rufai connecting him to the disappearance of Abubakar Idris, known as Dadiyata.

In a statement issued on his behalf by former Kano Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Muhammad Garba, Ganduje described the claim as baseless and an attempt to deflect responsibility for an incident that took place in Kaduna State.

The response followed remarks by El-Rufai during an appearance on Arise Television, where he said Dadiyata was abducted from his Kaduna residence by police officers allegedly dispatched from Kano while Ganduje was governor. El-Rufai stated that a police officer, later posted from Kano to Ekiti, had privately confessed to participating in the operation.

For years, public debate over Dadiyata’s disappearance has centred on Kaduna, where the activist lived and was taken. He was abducted on 2 August 2019 after unidentified armed men intercepted him as he drove into his home in Barnawa, Kaduna.

At the time, Dadiyata, a lecturer at the Federal University Dutsin-Ma, was active on social media and known for his support of former Kano governor Rabiu Kwankwaso. Following his disappearance, his family and rights groups filed legal actions. In 2020, the Federal High Court in Kaduna ordered the State Security Service and other agencies to produce him or release him. The agencies denied holding him.

International rights organisation Amnesty International later classified the case as an enforced disappearance. His whereabouts remain unknown.

In the latest exchange, Garba argued that Dadiyata lived and operated in Kaduna and that security responsibility rested with authorities in that state and relevant federal agencies. He said there was no record indicating that the activist’s primary focus was the Kano State Government or Ganduje.

Garba also questioned why El-Rufai’s account of an alleged police confession was not formally reported to investigative authorities if it was credible. He said serious allegations should be supported with verifiable evidence and pursued through established security channels.

The statement maintained that Ganduje’s administration in Kano tolerated dissent and media scrutiny, adding that there were no documented cases of arrests or harassment of journalists during his tenure.

Garba expressed sympathy for Dadiyata’s family and urged anyone with reliable information about the abduction to present it to the appropriate authorities.

He said the focus should remain on establishing the facts of the case rather than assigning blame without proof.