Amnesty to Tinubu: Probe Dadiyata’s disappearance, family needs closure after six years

Amnesty International (AI) has called on President Bola Tinubu to order a thorough probe into the disappearance of Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Dadiyata.

At a press conference on Saturday, Isa Sanusi, country director of Amnesty International Nigeria, said Idris’ family needs closure on the case.

Dadiyata was popular on social media for criticising the government until masked gunmen abducted him in Kaduna on August 2, 2019.

Six years after his abduction, Dadiyata’s whereabouts remain unknown.

Sanusi said Dadiyata’s continued disappearance sends “a chilling message to government critics,” adding that “even if the government didn’t take him, they failed to protect him”.

“Where is Dadiyata? Time is running out. The family needs disclosure. The country needs answers,” the AI Nigeria country director said.

“The government must be the search party. This is not just about Dadiyata. It’s about all Nigerians who dare to speak truth to power.

“[Dadiyata’s case] has become symbolic of Nigeria’s deteriorating human rights landscape, marked by impunity, shrinking civic space, and a deepening culture of silence.

“His family waited, hoping he would return that night. They waited and waited from days to months to years. It’s six years. We are still asking: where is Dadiyata?

“Even if the government didn’t take him, they failed to protect him. Human rights are state obligations.

“Six years on, there has been no investigation result, no update, no justice—absolutely nothing.”

On his part, Usman Idris, Dadiyata’s younger brother, said the family had been living in anguish.

He said their mother died waiting to reunite with her son, while an uncle passed away due to stress related to the unresolved case.

“Our father is barely holding on. Our lives have been torn apart,” Dadiyata’s brother said.

“My brother was not a criminal. He was a patriotic Nigerian who used his voice for justice.”

Khadija, Dadiyata’s wife, narrated how their children have been left traumatised by their father’s disappearance.

“They keep asking me, ‘Where is Daddy?’ I have no answers. We live in grief every single day,” she said.