‘I know by di grace of God my husband go come back’ - Wife of kidnapped Nigerian lecturer

30 August na international day for victims of enforced disappearance - pipo wey dem kidnap, usually by employees of di state, and dem no go see or hear from dem again.

Di phenomenon dey often happun wia armed conflict dey, but e fit also be a way for politicians to silence opponents.

"I still dey traumatised from di memories of di night dem take my husband away. My daughter still dey ask me wen her papa go return home, and I tell her to dey patient, say im bin travel and go come back soon," Khadija Ahmed tok.

She cry as she dey explain how her husband, Abubakar Idris, wey dem sabi as Dadiyata, bin forcibly disappear five years ago.

Dadiyata na lecturer for Dutsinma university for northern Nigeria, and a fierce critic of more dan one state govnor and Nigeria president for dat time, as e dey regularly call all of dem out on social media.

Khadija say her husband, wey bin dey for mid-30s, bin just return from one visit to a nearby city, afta midnight on 2 August 2019, wen dem gbab am.

“I bin dey sit wit my baby waiting for am to arrive home and wen e finally arrive, I watch am through di window as e stay inside im car to answer one call.

“Suddenly some men appear by im car and start to dey tok to am. Fear catch me so I run to call neighbour. By di time we got back and call di police, dem don disappear wit am."

Five years later, no trace of Dadiyata or im car, and no-one don contact di family wit any demand for ransom. Dem no know weda e don die or e still dey alive.

Khadija try to comfort di couple eldest daughter, wey now be 10 years, as she tell am say make she no listen to pipo wey say her papa no go return, and believe herself say e still dey alive.

Terror

Amnesty International kontri director Isa Sanusi tok say disappearances na often for two reasons – to silence critical voices, and to create fear, among odas.

“Enforced disappearance na frequent strategy to spread terror within society,” e tok. “Di feeling of insecurity and fear wey e dey generate no just dey affect di close relatives of di pesin wey disappear, but e dey also affect di communities and society as a whole.”

Dis phenomenon dey rampant for conflict situations, e tok, and e don be major problem for kontris like Syria, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Pakistan and Libya, as well as Nigeria.

Di International Committee of di Red Cross no dey keep record of enforced disappearances, but dem dey estimate numbers of “missing” pipo, wey include pipo wey disappear.

Dem tok say more dan 100,000 fit dey missing for both Mexico and Colombia, and perhaps several hundred thousand for Iraq.

Oga Isa Sanusi of Amnesty dey criticise di Nigerian goment as dem neva get register of enforced disappearances, and dem no dey investigate even cases wey evribodi know, like di case of Dadiyata.

Di job of to dey keep records don fall to one non-gomental organisation, di Jire Dole Network of Victims, wey don register about 25,000 pipo wey disappear for di last 11 years.

Founder and executive director of di NGO, Hamsatu Allamin say most of di pipo dey abducted by security officials or oda state actors. She don discover say di military no know how many pipo dem dey hold and dem no dey keep count of pipo wey die for dia detention.

According to Amnesty International, plenty of di pipo wey disappear for Nigeria na from conflict zones for di north-east and south-east.

For di north-east, Amnesty say di Islamist militant group, Boko Haram don abduct at least 2,000 young women and girls, while security forces don carry out at least 20,000 arbitrary arrests of men and boys.

Research wey Amnesty bin do suggest say soldiers bin dey pay informants wey no dey reliable to identify Boko Haram sympathisers, and den dem go arrest and hold dem “indefinitely for unauthorised and unacknowledged military detention”. Five years ago Amnesty tok say di estimate of pipo wey die for detention reach 10,000.

For November 2023, Amnesty carry di mata go di Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice, to argue say Nigeria don violate im international human rights obligations by allowing di military to forcibly disappear thousands of pipo for di north-east, and dem fail to investigate di matas well.

Threats

Dadiyata family no know who take am away, but dem say e bin don dey receive threats from politicians wey dey support goment.

“E get one example wen e gatz hide for three days for our uncle house becos e receive threats from one particular politician wey tok say e go abduct am,” Dadiyata brother, Usman Idris Usman, tok.

E add say di oga dem for police and Department of State Services (DSS) neva reply di family letter wey dem write to ask for help, and say di goment “just ignore us”.

Dia appeals to state govnors don also fall for deaf ears, e tok.

“Make dem just tell us if e don die or not, we no fit cry more tears dan we don already cry,” Usman tok.

Di DSS deny say dem dey carry out enforced disappearances and dem insist say dia officers dey follow correct legal procedures. DSS tok-tok pesin, Peter Afunanya, no gree comment specifically on di case of Dadiyata.

Dadiyata wife, Khadija, say she still get hope for good news, even though five years don pass.

“I neva expect say e go take dis long and since dat time my mind neva rest. Deep down I feel say dis no go be di end for us, I know by di grace of God my husband go come back,” she tok.

“I pray say God go bring am back home safe, dat na my only wish for life.”