Dadiyata not in our custody- DSS

The Department of State Services (DSS) on Tuesday said Abubakar Idris popularly known as Dadiyata was not in its custody.

According to a statement by the Public Relations Officer, DSS National Headquarters, Abuja, Dr Peter Afunanya, the Service has no reasons to deny its arrest and detention of suspects if it carried out operations during which such persons were arrested.

Dadiyata, a government critic was abducted in his home in Barnawa area in Kaduna State on August 1, 2019 by gunmen and has been missing since then.

Since then there has been some controversy over whether it was a kidnap or an arrest by security agents.

The DSS said: “The attention of the Department of State Services (DSS) has been drawn to serial allegations by sections of the media particularly the Punch and Daily Trust Newspapers that the Service is illegally detaining some Nigerians.

“Of specific mention were Abubakar IDRIS (aka Dadiyata) and Agba JALINGO said to have been arrested in Kaduna and Cross River States respectively by the Service. Another was Punch Newspaper’s wild allegation in its publications of 6th and 29th December, 2019 that over 50 suspects are being held by the Service under excruciating conditions and “routinely tortured”.