PDP youth wing demands whereabout of abducted Dadiyata

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

The Youth wing of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the federal government to disclose the whereabout of Abubakar Idris, who was picked up by a team suspected to come from the Department of State Security (DSS), on Friday, August 8th to an unknown destination.
Members of the PDP youth wing, who staged a peaceful protest at the unity fountain, Abuja on Thursday morning, under the watch of Policemen, carried placards with the inscriptionreading
#Where is Dadyata?
They called on the DSS to release him or charge him to court, adding that they have ran foul of the constitution by detaining him beyond 48 hours without a validly obtained court order.
The social activist and PDP New Media personality, Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Abu Hanifa Dadiyata, a lecturer at the Federal University Dutsinma, Katsina State, has been missing since Friday, August 8th and no official information has been obtained from the federal government nor its agencies on his whereabout or offences.
While addressing journalists at the venue of the peaceful protest, the leader of the group, Anthony Ehilebo who is the Head of New Media, PDP, said that the number of protests embarked upon since 2015 when this administration was inaugurated has become uncountable due to its draconian policies.
According to Ehilebo, “Dadiyata is a vocal member of the society known for holding government accountable. He has not been accused of any crime and his rights to free speech and fair hearing still stand as guaranteed by the 1999 Nigerian Constitution.
“He ought to have been charged to court within 48 hours of his arrest but this has not been done and there has been no contact with him since he was abducted. Our call right now is Where is Dadiyata?
“This abduction, the subsequent silence on it and the absence of a response to various demands for answers is indicative of an attack on the civil freedom that exist for citizens of Nigeria.
“It also indicates a disregard for the wishes and welfare of the citizens whom the government is called to serve and protect.
“No citizen should be stopped from exercising their rights to free speech. “This abduction of Dadiyata directly counters his right as guaranteed by the constitution and we ask that he be immediately released and the process of rule of law followed”, he said.
Also speaking, Andrew Enantomhen, the North West Coordinator of PDP New Media, added that his family and friends deserve to know the where about of Dadiyata.He thus called on the DSS to clear themselves of the allegation. The group vowed to continue with the protest until Dadiyata regains his freedom.