By Obinna Ezugwu
Fresh legal and political troubles appear to be mounting for former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, as security agencies intensify investigations into multiple matters, including the 2019 disappearance of Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Dadiyata.
Security sources confirmed that the Department of State Services (DSS) has reopened the investigation into Dadiyata’s abduction and is set to invite key suspects for questioning. The move comes nearly seven years after the lecturer at Federal University Dutsinma was declared missing.
Dadiyata was reportedly abducted on August 1, 2019, after gunmen stormed his residence in Barnawa, Kaduna, as he drove into his compound. His whereabouts remain unknown.
A senior security source disclosed that El-Rufai’s international passport was recently seized at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport to prevent him from travelling abroad while investigations are ongoing. According to the source, the DSS is probing not only the Dadiyata case but also other unresolved disappearances during the period.
“El-Rufai is aware that the Service is investigating him and his two sons in connection with the kidnapping,” the source alleged, adding that invitations may soon be extended for questioning.
However, no official statement has been issued by the DSS linking the former governor directly to the abduction.
The renewed attention to the case followed a video interview released by former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, who visited Dadiyata’s wife, Kadijah, at her residence.
In the video shared on Omokri’s X handle, Kadijah expressed anguish over her husband’s continued absence and appealed to Nigerians for help.
“They should please do whatever they can to help us know his whereabouts, if he’s alive or not,” she said.
Omokri called on Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, to support the family, including possible relocation, educational assistance for the children and employment support for the widow.
Dadiyata’s case resurfaced publicly after El-Rufai, in recent comments, denied any involvement and suggested that the missing lecturer was primarily a critic of the Kano State government rather than Kaduna.
He stated that Dadiyata was aligned with the Kwankwasiyya movement and was more critical of former Kano governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, than of the Kaduna administration.
“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,” El-Rufai said, adding that he did not know Dadiyata before the abduction was reported.
Ganduje, through a statement issued by his former Commissioner for Information, dismissed the claims as “reckless” and an attempt to shift responsibility for an incident that occurred within Kaduna State.
Meanwhile, El-Rufai is currently in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
He was initially detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday and released late Wednesday, only to be taken into custody by the ICPC the same night.
An ICPC official confirmed that the former governor remained with the commission but declined to disclose the specific offence under investigation. There are unverified reports linking the probe to the failed N11.1 billion Kaduna light rail joint venture project.
El-Rufai’s media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, also disclosed that ICPC operatives searched the former governor’s Aso Drive residence in Abuja. His lawyer, Ubong Akpan, condemned the search as unlawful and a violation of due process.
Security sources indicated that the former governor may be required to respond to separate investigations by the EFCC, ICPC and DSS, ranging from alleged financial mismanagement to unresolved security-related cases.
