Adeyanju calls for full probe into El-Rufai’s confessions

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.

Adeyanju cited claims of phone tapping involving Nigeria’s National Security Adviser (NSA) and alleged involvement in, or deflection over, the long-unresolved abduction of critic Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Dadiyata.

In a post on Facebook on Friday, Adeyanju urged security agencies to probe El-Rufai for allegedly admitting to tapping the phone of NSA Nuhu Ribadu once ongoing probes by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) conclude.

He further demanded scrutiny of El-Rufai’s claimed statement shifting responsibility for Dadiyata’s 2019 disappearance 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.

“The security agencies should also investigate ElRufai’s self confession that it was Ganduje who abducted Dadiyata and not him,” he added.

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

El-Rufai’s team condemned the incident as unlawful, claiming operatives seized his passport without a warrant, while supporters reportedly intervened to prevent detention.

El-Rufai has alleged politically motivated persecution, including claims that the NSA influences EFCC arrests.

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

Despite initial police investigations and public outcry, his whereabouts remain unknown, with no confirmed trace dead or alive after more than six years.

The case has long fueled accusations against El-Rufai’s administration for suppressing dissent through intimidation, arrests, or worse, allegations the former governor has consistently denied.