A coalition of survivors and families of victims of alleged abuses in Kaduna State has called for full accountability over actions they say occurred during the governorship of Nasir el-Rufai between 2015 and 2023.
The Kaduna Victims’ Coalition, which includes community and business leaders, public servants, traditional rulers, faith leaders, academics, journalists, and legal practitioners, said its members endured years of hardship, fear, and loss under the former governor’s administration.
In a statement released on Monday, the coalition highlighted high-profile cases symbolizing impunity during the period.
Among them: HRH Dr. Maiwada Raphael Galadima, the Agwam Adara (paramount ruler of the Adara Chiefdom), who was abducted in October 2018 and later murdered despite ransom payment. The coalition said the suspects arrested for his killing have yet to be successfully prosecuted and their current whereabouts remain unknown.
Another case mentioned was that of Abubakar Idris (Dadiyata), a lecturer at the Federal University Dutsenma and social media commentator critical of governance issues, who was abducted from his home in Barnawa, Kaduna, on August 2, 2019, and has been missing for nearly seven years. The coalition noted that his disappearance will reach the statutory presumption of death under Nigerian law in August 2026.
The statement also referenced a tweet by Bashir el-Rufai, son of the then-governor, shortly after Dadiyata’s abduction, which the coalition said was widely perceived as dismissive of calls for his safe return.
The coalition accused the el-Rufai administration of a pattern of abuses, including arbitrary abductions, persecution of critics, reprisals, unlawful demolitions of homes, mass dismissals of workers, and forced sackings by employers of perceived opponents. They said these acts bypassed constitutional safeguards, effectively turning gubernatorial immunity into unchecked impunity.