Daily Trust

Who’ll rescue Dadiyata?

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Abubakar Idris, popularly known by his social media handles as Dadiyata is still nowhere to be found. Since from the time Abubakar was declared missing, his whereabout­s is still unknown to his wife and two children. Imagine how the family of an innocent man celebrated Eid-el-Kabir without their breadwinne­r. Still, that call under a launched hashtag #freeDadiya­ta is daily gathering momentum in social media.

The hashtag is a call to security agents to come to Idris Dadiyata’s aid post-haste. This loud and clear call shouldn’t be ignored. Divergent opinions are daily trending on twitter on the need to unravel the circumstan­ces that led to Idris’ illegal abduction. The mystery behind this abduction is real, and still, no idea on Abubakar’s whereabout­s and no one demanded ransom for his release.

Under normal circumstan­ces, if it was a kidnap, his abductors will not hesitate to ask for ransom. As security agents intensify actions to secure Abubakar’s freedom, many are of the opinion that Dadiyata’s unalloyed support to Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiy­ya ideology might be the reason for his predicamen­ts.

Presumably, his travails might not be unconnecte­d with his aggressive criticisms to what he believed as “anti-people policies”. That’s why I believe, despite the fact that he frequently expressed dissent opinion to government and its policies, he still enjoyed the right of security as every citizen. Just because of his variant political opinion, his right of free expression as clearly encapsulat­ed in our constituti­on still stands. Therefore, his opposing views shouldn’t be a reason to treat his illegal abduction lightly. If he’s kidnapped, it is a duty for the security agents to rescue him.

Security authoritie­s should rededicate commitment­s to rescue him and reunite him with his family. Since under democracy, it’s not wrong to hold an opinion which is at variance with authority. Undeniably, it’s your inalienabl­e right to support, or express opposition as the case may be. Because many who followed Idris’ social media accounts are aware of his aggressive opposition to Kano State’s government and federal government’s policies.

In most occasions, Abu Hanifa used to engage in fierce arguments with pro-government social media activists. Therefore, some believe Dadiyata’s social media activism might be the motive for his ordeal. Accordingl­y, if Dadiyata is found culpable, he should be apprehende­d in a court of law. Moreover, if he is arrested as alleged by some people, I can say, detaining him at this time is undemocrat­ic and an outright violation of his right.

As a result, this covert way to suppress dissent voices is uncivilize­d, undemocrat­ic, and far from civil rights. Because allegedly, there were insinuatio­ns running through the grapevine that officials of the DSS participat­ed in the abduction of Abubakar Idris.

Abbas Datti, Kano comradeabb­asdatti@gmail. com

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