DSS Probes El-Rufai Over Dadiyata, Other Missing Person Cases

The Department of State Services (DSS) has reacted to the seizure of the passport of a former governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El’Rufai, noting that it has re-opened the “cold case” of the 2019 disappearance of a renowned government critic, Abubakar Idris, better known as Dadiyata, in Kaduna, and several other cases of missing persons allegedly linked to the former governor.

A top security source who made the disclosure, also revealed that last Thursday’s seizure of the former governor’s passport by DSS officers at the Nnamdi Azikiwe international Airport, Abuja, was to stop him from fleeing to Egypt after briefly visiting Nigeria.

According to the source, “El’Rufai is fully aware that the DSS is investigating him for Dadiyata’s kidnap. So, he planned to visit the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday, and then visit the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Crimes Commission (ICPC) on Tuesday. Thereafter, he will fly back to Cairo. Seizing his passport has shattered his plans.”

The security source further stated that the reopening of Dadiyata’s kidnap case followed months of intense investigations. The leads, he said, suggested that El’Rufai, who was Kaduna State governor at the time of Dadiyata’s disappearance, masterminded the kidnap.

A lecturer in the Department of English and Linguistics at the Federal University Dutsinma (FUDMA), Katsina State, Dadiyata was on August 1, 2019, declared missing by his wife after some gunmen abducted him in his Kaduna home. His whereabouts remained unknown till date.

Recall that while speaking on ARISE News last Friday, El’Rufai, who was governor between 2015 and 2023, disclosed that he was privy to a confession allegedly made by a certain remorseful policeman that he was part of a team sent from Kano State to abduct Dadiyata.

“Three years after he was abducted, a policeman who was posted from Kano to Ekiti State confessed to someone that they were sent from Kano to abduct Dadiyata and that the officer was worried about that. That is all I know,” El-Rufai had stated on the TV show.

Reminded by the television anchor that Dadiyata was believed to be his critic, El’Rufai responded that he wasn’t “aware of the existence” of Dadiyata until he went missing. If anything, he stressed, the missing lecturer was known to be a follower of the Kwankwasiyya movement, and, therefore, a political opponent of the then Kano State governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje.

“It was Ganduje that was his (Dadiyata’s) problem. I didn’t even know him…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,” stated El’Rufai.

The security source stated that El-Rufai’s allegation that a certain police officer made such damning confession and that he kept mum over such vital information was beyond belief.

He added, “El’Rufai is fully aware that the DSS is investigating him and his two sons for Dadiyata’s kidnap. That was why he rushed to ARISE News channel to cook up stories about Ganduje and the confessions of a ghost police officer, all in a bid to divert attention. He is aware of the security implication of seizing his passport. He knows he can’t officially leave the country, which is very bad for him.

“Several laws place a responsibility on citizens to assist with crime reporting and prevention. Section 123 of the Criminal Code Act prohibits the willful destruction or concealment of evidence, while the Criminal Code Act and the Penal Code, applicable to Kaduna State, deals with covering up treason, destroying evidence, or aiding suspects.”