By Obinna Uballa
Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, was on Wednesday night detained by operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), shortly after his release from the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), where he had spent two nights.
His arrest came amid mounting investigations into alleged financial misappropriation during his tenure as governor and renewed scrutiny over the 2019 disappearance of government critic, Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Dadiyata.
Although initial reports suggested that operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) picked him up from the EFCC headquarters in Abuja, DSS sources denied that he was ever in their custody. Instead, El-Rufai was reportedly taken to the ICPC headquarters, where he had earlier been scheduled to respond to questions.
Security sources indicated that the former governor may have to shuttle between the EFCC, ICPC and DSS as investigations continue. The EFCC is said to be preparing charges over alleged N432 billion fraud, including accusations of loan misappropriation, contract irregularities, money laundering and plunging Kaduna State into heavy debt without commensurate projects.
Separately, the DSS is believed to be revisiting the long-running case of Dadiyata’s disappearance. A lecturer in the Department of English and Linguistics at the Federal University Dutsinma, Katsina State, Dadiyata was abducted from his Kaduna residence on August 1, 2019. His whereabouts remain unknown.
A senior security source disclosed that El-Rufai’s passport was seized last week at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, to prevent him from leaving the country. According to the source, investigators suspect he may have information relevant to Dadiyata’s case.
The renewed focus on the disappearance follows recent public exchanges between El-Rufai and former Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, over alleged complicity in the abduction.
Providing context to the controversy, United States-based academic and columnist Farooq Kperogi recently revisited Dadiyata’s political activism and the climate of intolerance surrounding his disappearance. Kperogi noted that Dadiyata, a vocal supporter of Rabiu Kwankwaso’s Kwankwasiyya movement, was fiercely critical not only of Ganduje but also of El-Rufai and other APC figures.
Kperogi recalled that Dadiyata’s Twitter commentary frequently targeted El-Rufai, contradicting suggestions that he was not a critic of the former governor. He also referenced a December 2019 tweet by El-Rufai’s son, Bashir, which appeared to mock Dadiyata’s disappearance and the campaign for his return, a post Kperogi described as circumstantial evidence of awareness of the tensions surrounding the critic’s activism.
The columnist further documented multiple instances in which critics of both El-Rufai and Ganduje were allegedly arrested, detained or prosecuted during their tenures, arguing that both men had reputations for intolerance of dissent. While stopping short of drawing definitive conclusions, Kperogi urged law enforcement agencies to thoroughly investigate any leads, including claims that a police officer once hinted that Dadiyata’s arrest was ordered from Kano.
