13
Feb
Feb
EL-RUFAI ADMITS KADUNA STATE GOVERNMENT OPERATES KIDNAPPING GANG, SPARKING RENEWED CALLS FOR INFO ON MISSING CRITIC
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Nicolas Adekeye / 3 weeks
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- 2 min read
Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has admitted that the Kaduna State government operates a kidnapping gang. In a cryptic message on X (formerly Twitter), El-Rufai warned a follower against criticizing his political protégé-turned-enemy, Governor Uba Sani, to avoid suffering the same fate as others who were kidnapped and tortured by state-sponsored thugs. “Be careful, Imran @IU_Wakilii,” El-Rufai said, quoting the tweet criticizing Sani. He warned that “the Kaduna kidnapping team (I will reveal this next week, in sha Allah) will either try implementing the Danbilki Commander (abduct, whip and then offer money) or the Bashir Saidu (abduct and imprison) treatment on you.” He further advised critics of the Kaduna governor to “Please keep away from Kaduna and stay safe wherever you are.” El-Rufai’s message referenced the abduction and assault of Abdul-Majeed Al Mustapha, known as Dan-Bilki Komanda, by Sani’s supporters, revealing the state leaders’ alleged involvement in enforced disappearances. This admission comes almost six years after El-Rufai’s critic, Abubakar ‘Dadiyatta’ Idris, mysteriously vanished in 2019 and remains missing. Following Dadiyatta’s disappearance, amidst the trending #WhereisDadiyatta on X in December 2019, Bashir El-Rufai, one of the former governor’s sons, dismissed Nigerians pushing the campaign as “clowns,” suggesting Dadiyatta was suffering the consequences of his actions. “The same clowns who encouraged him when he was creating false stories and capitalising 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,” Bashir El-Rufai said at the time. El-Rufai’s recent revelation has sparked widespread debate on social media, with many now asking, “Where is Dadiyatta?” The UN reported in 2023 that Nigerian authorities are not doing enough to address enforced disappearances.