Death of Miners: ‘I’ll Expose Any Cover-Up’ — Adeyanju Accepts Appointment Into Committee

Human rights lawyer and activist Deji Adeyanju has accepted an invitation to join the Federal Government’s committee investigating the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in Niger State, promising to protect the victims’ interests and establish the truth.

Adeyanju disclosed his decision on Saturday, saying he accepted the assignment and would not receive any payment, stipend or honorarium.

He urged the Federal Government not to make financial provisions for committee members, saying those serving on the panel should be prepared to sacrifice for the investigation.

He said he would personally bear his accommodation, transportation and expenses.

Adeyanju warned that he would not participate in or tolerate any attempt to compromise the investigation or conceal wrongdoing.

He promised to expose any effort to shield those responsible for the deaths or suppress the truth, insisting that the victims and their families deserve justice.

The Federal Government constituted the 10-member independent committee after President Bola Tinubu directed a transparent investigation.

The committee is chaired by retired Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services, Jonathan Kure, while Professor Isa Hayatu Chiroma, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, serves as secretary.

Other members include retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police Hosea Hassan Karma; Professor Olayinka Buhari, a professor of histopathology and former Chief Medical Director of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital; representatives of the Minna Emirate Council and Niger State Government; and Liman Sulaiman, National Secretary of the Miners Association of Nigeria.

Blueprint Newspaper’s Zainab Suleiman Okino and public affairs analyst George Agbakahi are also members.

The committee is expected to establish the identities of the deceased and investigate the circumstances surrounding their arrests, detention and deaths.

It will determine whether responsibility, complicity, negligence or misconduct contributed to the deaths and recommend appropriate action, including compensation where applicable.

The panel has two weeks to complete its assignment and submit its report to the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.

The minister directed the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other authorities to cooperate with the investigation and preserve records and material evidence.

The government has also suspended 20 NSCDC officers pending the outcome of the investigation.