Former Kano Governor Abdullahi Ganduje Denies Involvement in Disappearance of Critic Dadiyata

 Former Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has forcefully rejected any link between himself or his administration and the mysterious disappearance of popular social media activist and lecturer Abubakar Idris, better known as Dadiyata. The strong rebuttal arrived on Saturday, February 14, 2026, just one day after former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai pointed fingers squarely in Ganduje’s direction during a television interview.

Dadiyata’s case still haunts many Nigerians more than six years later. On August 2, 2019, the outspoken commentator and lecturer at the Federal University Dutsin-Ma in Katsina State vanished without a trace. Masked armed men intercepted him near his residence in the Barnawa area of Kaduna as he drove home. Since that terrifying moment, no credible word has emerged about his fate. The abduction triggered outrage from civil society groups, human rights activists, and ordinary citizens who demanded answers. Yet despite the noise, concrete progress in the investigation has remained painfully elusive.

In an Arise TV interview aired on Friday, February 13, 2026, El-Rufai pushed back hard against any suggestion that his own Kaduna administration played a part. He insisted that Dadiyata’s sharpest criticisms were aimed at Ganduje’s government in Kano, not at Kaduna. El-Rufai then dropped a bombshell: he referenced an alleged confession from a police officer who had been transferred from Kano to Ekiti State. According to him, the officer later admitted that personnel from Kano were sent to carry out the abduction and even expressed regret over the operation years afterward.

Ganduje wasted little time responding. On Saturday, through a statement released by his former Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Comrade Muhammad Garba, the ex-governor dismissed the claims as “reckless, unfounded, and a clear attempt to shift responsibility.” He stressed that the entire incident unfolded inside Kaduna State, not Kano. Dadiyata lived and operated in Kaduna, where he built his reputation for criticising the state government there. Garba argued there was little solid evidence showing that Dadiyata’s primary focus had been on Kano or Ganduje personally. Security matters in Kaduna at the time, he pointed out, fell under the responsibility of the Kaduna State government and federal agencies working in the area.

The statement went further. Ganduje’s team openly questioned the credibility of El-Rufai’s reference to that supposed police confession. If such an admission really existed, they asked, why had it not been shared immediately with proper investigative authorities or pursued formally over the years? They urged security agencies to examine the claims thoroughly and called for an impartial, unbiased probe to finally get to the truth of what happened to Dadiyata.

This public clash between two heavyweights of northern Nigeria’s All Progressives Congress (APC) has suddenly thrust the cold case back into the spotlight. For Dadiyata’s family and supporters, every new headline must feel like salt in an open wound. More than half a decade has passed since those masked men took him, and they still have no closure – no body, no ransom demand, no reliable witness account that has led anywhere meaningful.

The exchange also lays bare deeper political tensions that continue to simmer among key figures in the APC across the north. What began as a tragic disappearance has now become another arena for old rivalries and score-settling. Observers watching the back-and-forth can’t help wondering: is this really about justice for Dadiyata, or has the case become convenient ammunition in a longer-running political battle?

Freedom of expression sits at the heart of the unease. Dadiyata was known for his fearless online commentary. When voices like his suddenly go silent through abduction, it sends a chilling message to others who dare to criticise those in power. Questions about accountability for such incidents, and how dissent is handled in Nigeria’s complex political landscape, refuse to fade away.

Ganduje, who also served as National Chairman of the APC, clearly wants the focus kept on Kaduna. His statement repeatedly emphasised that the activist lived and worked there, and that security oversight rested with the authorities on the ground. El-Rufai, for his part, maintains his administration had nothing to do with it and tried to redirect attention toward Kano.

Yet the core tragedy remains unchanged. A young lecturer and social commentator, exercising his right to speak out, was snatched from the streets and has never been seen again. His family continues to wait in agony. Supporters keep pushing for answers. And the Nigerian public, jaded by too many unresolved high-profile cases, watches with a mixture of frustration and fading hope.

Calls for renewed investigation have grown louder once again. Some are urging federal authorities to dust off old files, re-examine any potential leads, and take seriously claims of confessions or witness statements that may have been overlooked or deliberately buried. Whether this latest war of words between Ganduje and El-Rufai will actually produce fresh momentum – or simply generate more heat without light – is the question many are asking today.

In the end, the real victim in this unfolding drama is still Dadiyata himself. Six-plus years of silence. Six-plus years of pain for those who loved him. Six-plus years during which powerful men trade accusations while the truth stays hidden. The latest exchange may have reignited public interest, but it has done nothing yet to bring closure or justice.

Perhaps the only positive note is that the case refuses to die quietly. Every time it resurfaces, it forces Nigerians to confront uncomfortable questions about power, accountability, and the safety of those bold enough to speak truth to authority. For now, though, the most important voice – Dadiyata’s – remains heartbreakingly absent.