Kadijah, wife of social media influencer Idris Abubakar, popularly known as Dadiyata, has voiced deep sorrow over a tweet by Bashir el-Rufai, son of former Kaduna State governor, that mocked her husband’s disappearance.
In a video interview released on X by Ambassador-Designate Reno Omokri, Kadijah, visibly emotional, stated, “I felt bad about it. I can’t even explain…” The video quickly went viral, garnering over 86,000 impressions within hours.
Dadiyata, a lecturer at the Federal University, Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State, was abducted by unidentified gunmen on August 2, 2019, as he entered his home in Barnawa, Kaduna State. He has not been seen since.
While some political commentators have linked his disappearance to the administration of Malam Nasir el-Rufai, the government has consistently denied involvement. Yet, four months after the abduction, Bashir el-Rufai tweeted:
“Those same clowns who encourage 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.”
Asked about her reaction to the tweet, Kadijah said she was heartbroken and prayed fervently for her husband’s safe return. “We pray that one day, he will come back,” she said, describing the traumatic moment when gunmen abducted him from their compound. She is mother to two daughters, Hassana (12) and Fatima (6).
During the interview, Omokri reassured Kadijah of hope for Dadiyata’s return and promised justice in the unlikely event of his death.
The case resurfaced in public discourse on 14 February 2026, when Bashir’s father, former Kaduna State governor Nasir el-Rufai, addressed allegations linking his administration to the abduction.
He maintained that Dadiyata was never a critic of his government but had been critical of the former Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje.
El-Rufai revealed that a police officer posted from Kano to Ekiti State confessed to being sent to abduct Dadiyata, and stressed that the Kaduna State government was unaware of any threat and could not have provided protection.
He also challenged Amnesty International’s description of Dadiyata as a “fierce critic” of his administration, inviting scrutiny of the influencer’s social media timeline.
