Deji Adeyanju demands probe of El-Rufai over alleged phone tapping and comments on Dadiyata’s disappearance amid rising political tension

Human rights lawyer and political activist Deji Adeyanju has demanded a full investigation into former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai over what he described as public confessions to serious allegations.

Also read: El-Rufai Says Tinubu’s Government Fears His Return

In a Facebook post on Friday, Adeyanju called on security agencies to probe El-Rufai for allegedly admitting to tapping the phone of Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, after ongoing investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission are concluded.

Deji Adeyanju demands probe of El-Rufai, he wrote, over claims relating to alleged surveillance activities and remarks concerning the long-unresolved disappearance of government critic Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Dadiyata.

Adeyanju further urged authorities to scrutinise what he described as El-Rufai’s claimed statement shifting responsibility for Dadiyata’s 2019 abduction to former Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.

“El-Rufai should be investigated for confessing to tapping NSA’s phone after EFCC and ICPC are done with him,” Adeyanju wrote. He added that security agencies should also examine the alleged statement attributing Dadiyata’s abduction to Ganduje.

The remarks come amid heightened political tension surrounding El-Rufai, who recently returned to Nigeria from abroad and reportedly faced an attempted arrest by security operatives at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

El-Rufai’s associates condemned the incident as unlawful, alleging that operatives seized his passport without a warrant. Supporters were said to have intervened to prevent his detention.

The former governor has denied wrongdoing and alleged politically motivated persecution, including claims that the National Security Adviser influences arrests by anti-corruption agencies.

Dadiyata, a vocal online critic of governance in northern Nigeria, disappeared from his Kaduna home on 2 August 2019 after armed men reportedly abducted him in front of his family.

Despite police investigations and sustained public outcry, his whereabouts remain unknown more than six years later.

Also read: El-Rufai Alleges NSA Ribadu Behind Airport Arrest Attempt

The unresolved case continues to cast a long shadow over Kaduna’s political landscape, fuelling allegations of repression during El-Rufai’s administration, claims he has consistently rejected.