The Department of State Services (DSS) has reopened its investigation into the 2019 disappearance of Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Dadiyata, and intends to summon individuals of interest for questioning.
Dadiyata, a lecturer at Federal University Dutsinma, was reportedly abducted by gunmen from his residence in Kaduna State on August 1, 2019, and has remained missing for nearly seven years.
A security source told The PUNCH that the DSS has revived the case alongside other unresolved missing-persons investigations.
“The DSS has reopened the case of the 2019 disappearance in Kaduna of a renowned government critic, Abubakar Idris, better known as Dadiyata, and several other cases of missing persons,” the source said.
The renewed investigation comes amid heightened public attention following a video interview released by ambassador-designate Reno Omokri on his X handle. In the video, Kadijah Idris, Dadiyata’s wife, expressed ongoing concern over her husband’s disappearance and appealed for public support.
“We pray that one day, he will come back,” she said, urging Nigerians to assist in discovering his whereabouts, whether he is alive or not.
Kadijah recounted witnessing the abduction on August 2, 2019, as her husband alighted from his car within their compound. She also described distress over an old social media comment allegedly made by the son of a former governor concerning her husband’s case.
Omokri, who visited the family, called for state support and assistance from the Kaduna government, suggesting measures such as relocation, educational support for the children, or employment assistance for Kadijah.
The case resurfaced after former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai denied involvement in the disappearance, claiming Dadiyata was a critic of the Kano State government, not Kaduna.
“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,” El-Rufai said.
In response, former Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje dismissed the statement as “reckless” and an attempt to shift responsibility.
Sources also disclosed that the DSS recently seized El-Rufai’s passport at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport to prevent international travel while investigations continue. The Service is reportedly planning to invite El-Rufai’s sons for questioning as part of the reopened inquiry.