Amnesty, Family Fault FG’s Silence Over Disappearance Of Activist Dadiyata \u2022 Channels Television
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Six years after the mysterious abduction of Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Dadiyata, in Kaduna State, the family and Amnesty International have faulted the\u00a0 Federal Government for what they described as its \u201cdeafening silence and shameful inaction\u201d in resolving the activist\u2019s disappearance seven years later.<\/strong><\/p>\n Addressing a news conference in Kaduna to mark the sixth anniversary of the incident, the country Director of Amnesty International, Isa Sanusi, described Dadiyata\u2019s case as a disturbing metaphor for the Nigerian state\u2019s growing hostility to dissent.<\/p>\n \u201cHis family waited that night, hoping he\u2019d walk back in. They waited the next day. Then weeks, months, now six years,\u201d Sanusi said in a visibly emotional tone.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are still asking the same question \u2014 Where is Dadiyata?\u201d<\/p>\n Sanusi did not mince words in describing the government\u2019s posture since 2019 as negligent and complacent<\/p>\n \u201cEven if the government claims it didn\u2019t take him, it failed to protect him. That is a fundamental breach of responsibility,\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n READ ALSO<\/strong>: Any Politician Offering To Serve For One Term Needs Psychiatric Examination \u2013 Soludo<\/p>\n He accused the security agencies, particularly the police and the Department of State Services, of issuing \u201cweak and weightless promises\u201d and treating the case with levity.<\/p>\n \u201cTill today, there has been no credible update, no official report, no accountability. Just silence. Shameful silence,\u201d Sanusi said.<\/p>\n He warned that the nature of the abduction bore the hallmark of \u201cenforced disappearance,\u201d \u00a0a tactic associated with authoritarian regimes aimed at stifling dissent and intimidating civic voices.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not just about Dadiyata. It\u2019s about a dangerous trend. This is a warning to anyone who dares to speak truth to power in Nigeria,\u201d Sanusi said.<\/p>\n He called on President Bola Tinubu to break the silence and direct a full, independent investigation into the case, noting that the Muhammadu Buhari administration failed woefully in that regard.<\/p>\n \u201cTime is running out. The family needs closure. The country needs answers. The government must be the search party,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Also speaking, Dadiyata\u2019s brother, Usman Idris, painted a grim picture of a family torn apart by trauma and unanswered questions.<\/p>\n \u201cOur mother died with a broken heart. She waited and waited. Our uncle couldn\u2019t take the pain \u2014 he passed too. And now, our father is barely holding on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAbubakar believed in using his voice, not violence. He believed the pen could change this country. And he paid the price for it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Usman noted that the family had written to every relevant authority \u2014 from the Inspector-General of Police to the Director-General of the DSS and the Attorney-General of the Federation \u2014 but none had provided any credible answers.<\/p>\n \u201cSix years. Not one official explanation. Not one apology. Just silence,\u201d he lamented.<\/p>\n Perhaps the most heartbreaking moment came from Dadiyata\u2019s wife, Khadija Ahmad Lame, who broke down as she shared how their children had lived in confusion and grief.<\/p>\n \u201cThey ask me every day, \u2018Where is Daddy?\u2019 And I have no answers,\u201d\u00a0 she said through tears. \u201cSix years of pain. Six years of helplessness. Six years without closure.\u201d<\/p>\n Amnesty International said it would continue to push for answers and justice not only for Dadiyata but for every Nigerian who has suffered similar violations.<\/p>\n Dadiyata, a university lecturer, a government critic, and online political commentator, was allegedly abducted by masked men from his home in the Barnawa area of Kaduna metropolis on August 2, 2019.<\/p>\n He had just returned from work when the armed assailants pounced and whisked him away in his vehicle. Since that night, neither he nor his car has been seen again.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n