The perplexing disappearance of social media commentator and lecturer, Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Dadiyata, has resurfaced as former governors Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State and Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State engage in a public dispute over responsibility for his abduction. Dadiyata was abducted on August 2, 2019, from his Kaduna residence, an incident that sparked national outrage and led to multiple legal actions.

On that fateful evening, Dadiyata, a 34-year-old lecturer at the Federal University Dutsin-Ma, a prominent social media influencer, and a staunch supporter of former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso (a Kwankwasiya movement member), was intercepted by unidentified armed men as he drove into his compound in Barnawa, Kaduna State. Despite extensive efforts by his family and various human rights organizations, including multiple lawsuits and a 2020 Federal High Court order in Kaduna for the State Security Service (SSS) and other security agencies to produce or release him, his whereabouts remain unknown for over seven years. The security agencies consistently denied having him in custody, and global watchdogs like Amnesty International have classified his case as an enforced disappearance. No group has officially claimed responsibility for his capture.

Speaking on Arise Television, former Kaduna Governor Nasir el-Rufai vehemently denied any involvement in Dadiyata's abduction. He asserted that Dadiyata was not a fierce critic of the Kaduna State government, as widely speculated, but rather a fierce critic of the Kano State government under Ganduje. El-Rufai claimed he was unaware of Dadiyata's existence until his family reported the abduction to the police. He further alleged that "three years after Dadiyata was abducted, a policeman who was posted out of Kano to Ekiti state confessed to someone that they were sent from Kano and they abducted Dadiyata, and he felt bad about it." According to el-Rufai, this information pointed to the disappearance being a "Kano state problem," having nothing to do with the Kaduna State government. He challenged Amnesty International's description of Dadiyata as a "fierce critic" of the Kaduna State Government, urging researchers to examine Dadiyata’s social media timeline which, he noted, focused criticisms entirely on the Kano State Government. Adding to the controversy, Bashir el-Rufai, son of the former Kaduna governor, had made a post on X (formerly Twitter) on December 23, 2019, four months after the abduction, stating, "The same clowns who encouraged him when he was creating false stories and capitalizing on lies that could endanger lives solely for political ends are the same individuals trending hashtags asking #WhereisDadiyata. Dangerous lies in the public space have consequences."

In a robust response, former Kano Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, through a statement signed by his former Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Muhammad Garba, firmly rejected el-Rufai's allegations. He described the claim as "reckless, unfounded and a clear attempt to shift responsibility for an incident that occurred entirely within Kaduna State." Ganduje emphasized that Dadiyata lived and operated in Kaduna, where he was widely known for directing his criticisms at the Kaduna State government, asserting that "Everyone in Kaduna knew the nature of the criticism he made and who it was directed at." He also noted that responsibility for security in Kaduna at the time rested with the state government and relevant federal security agencies operating there. Ganduje questioned the credibility of el-Rufai's claim about a police confession, finding it difficult to reconcile a claim of having "no prior knowledge of the individual with simultaneously making detailed assertions about who was responsible." He stressed that his administration in Kano was characterized by tolerance for criticism, open media engagement, and acceptance of opposition voices, with no record of arrests, intimidation, or harassment of journalists or critics. Ganduje also pointed out that public discourse surrounding Dadiyata’s disappearance had, over the years, centred largely on events within Kaduna state, with figures like former Senator Shehu Sani and commentator Reno Omokri previously raising allegations questioning how the matter was handled. Ganduje called for careful scrutiny of El-Rufai’s remarks, demanding verifiable evidence instead of political rhetoric, and stated that Dadiyata's family deserves closure through lawful and transparent investigations, not through politicizing a painful and unresolved episode.

The ongoing verbal exchange between the former governors underscores the deeply politicized and unresolved nature of Dadiyata's disappearance. While both sides present conflicting narratives and accusations, the primary focus remains on uncovering the truth and ensuring justice for Abubakar Idris, whose whereabouts have remained a mystery for over seven years, leaving his family and civil society yearning for answers. Accountability, Ganduje urged, must rest on facts and due process, not speculation.