The Department of State Services has resumed investigation into the 2019 disappearance of Abubakar Idris, widely known as Dadiyata, with plans to invite individuals suspected to have links to the incident for interrogation.
Dadiyata, a lecturer at the Federal University Dutsinma, Katsina State, went missing in August 2019 after gunmen reportedly abducted him from his residence in Kaduna.
His fate has remained unknown years after the incident, despite sustained public concern.
Fresh attention was drawn to the case after his wife, Kadijah, spoke about the lingering pain caused by his disappearance during a video interview shared by Reno Omokri.
In the interview, she appealed to Nigerians and relevant authorities to help uncover her husband’s whereabouts, expressing hope that he would eventually return. She also narrated how the incident allegedly occurred shortly after he arrived home on the day he was taken away.
Kadijah said the family has continued to struggle emotionally since the incident, recalling how certain public comments made shortly after the abduction added to her distress at the time.
During the visit, Omokri assured the family of continued advocacy for justice and called on government authorities to provide support that could ease their living conditions while investigations continue.
The matter resurfaced recently after comments by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who denied any connection to the disappearance, stating that the missing lecturer was not primarily critical of his administration.
El-Rufai maintained that he only became aware of Dadiyata following reports made to the police and argued that responsibility for answering questions surrounding the incident did not lie with the Kaduna State Government.
Responding to the development, former Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje rejected claims linking him to the case, describing such allegations as baseless and insisting the abduction took place within Kaduna State.
Security sources indicated that the renewed DSS probe forms part of broader efforts to resolve longstanding missing persons cases, with investigators expected to question key individuals as authorities intensify attempts to unravel the mystery behind Dadiyata’s disappearance.
