BY ZAINAB SULEIMAN OKINO
BETWEEN the Nigerian government and citizens, the trust deficit is huge. Setting up a committee to unravel anything is viewed with suspicion. In our days in the Daily Trust newsroom, setting up committees was a butt of jokes among us. We called it the committee on snakes, in reference to a one-time US presidential aspirant, Ross Perot, who criticised bureaucracy’s penchant for setting up committees: “If you see a snake, just kill it. Don’t appoint a committee on snakes.”
Unfortunately, Nigeria has not done creditably well in this regard over time. Many committees’ works are gathering dust in shelves across the country. When the Federal Government, through the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, set up the NSCDC committee to investigate the deaths of artisanal miners at the Niger State Command, skepticism greeted the idea. Yours sincerely was one of the members.
I’m proud of the teamwork, collaboration, and collective resolve to ensure succour in the form of justice for the benefit of the poor victims of the Minna mining tragedy, who had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time – the misfortune of being poor and unemployed, and the misfortune of being IDPs. Most of the victims were from some IDP camps scattered in parts of Niger State.
However, a lot of people also called to express their confidence and to say they would give us the benefit of the doubt, knowing I would not agree to suppress the truth. It turned out that all the committee members were enthusiastic, as was the eager public, and each came with his integrity intact and ready to fight any form of suppression of the truth or cover-up.
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Five weeks later, the committee submitted its report with deep insights into the root causes of the tragedy that cost the lives of innocent people, and recommendations that, if properly implemented, could change the narrative for the NSCDC and other paramilitary agencies. The committee’s report is now public knowledge and awaiting the government’s next line of action, but before then, a bit of background suffices.
I waited a bit to see reactions to our findings, revelations, and recommendations. And I’m happy to note that, contrary to controversies that normally trail such efforts, a lot of people seem content with the outcome of ours and have expressed that much in their reactions and individual calls. I’m not surprised, though, considering the calibre and pedigree of the members, their inputs and commitment, and the man-hours poured into this sensitive public service concern.
Soon after the September 22nd inauguration, we hit the ground running literally, working till the evening of that day to herald the pressure-cooker work of the next few weeks. We outlined our work and administrative plans and timelines of the onerous task; the sequence of events, form of engagement, etcetera.
By the third day, we headed for the NSCDC headquarters in Sauka, Airport Road, where all the staff involved in Minna had been brought and detained. As a matter of courtesy, we met with the NSCDC Commandant-General and his management team. Our engagement and interrogation with the suspected staff in detention was one-on-one, starting from the lowest-ranking officer, and one by one, what transpired on the 15th and night of the 16th through to the morning of the 17th of September, when the bodies of 33 able-bodied young men were discovered, and other issues began to unfold. We interrupted this process and moved to Minna for a one-week field fact-finding mission.
Our one-week stay in Minna was eventful. The emir’s palace, where we met with most of the families of victims and survivors, felt like home. The emir played host to us and played his fatherly role to all the people who thronged his palace. His advice and words of encouragement were a morale booster to all.
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A visit to the NSCDC command was a priority. We toured the scene of the crime and the entire NSCDC office, visited the mining sites around MI Wushishi Estate, and visited the state commands of the Police and DSS. Our first port of call on arrival was to Governor Mohammed Bago, who reiterated his commitment to finding the truth and encouraged us to do the same. Minna opened our eyes to new vistas. There, we met an NSCDC top shot who was fingered through verbal confessions of those in detention in Abuja, but was seemingly shielded. His personal account collapsed in the face of overwhelming evidence and interrogation from our team. He was indicted along with some five others recommended for dismissal and prosecution.
Back to the third leg of our investigation in Abuja, suspect interrogation continued. All suspects, including the former Niger State Commandant, Suberu Aniviye, appeared before us. The session climaxed with the appearance of the Commandant-General himself. Meanwhile, putting the reports together was Herculean, emotionally and physically draining, and tasking. It took a lot of high-level discussions, back and forth, even voice votes to arrive at some conclusions. So charged, yet democratic were those sessions that betrayal of trust and outsider interference were tenable.
To our relief, after an exhausting five weeks, the Minister of Interior and Nigerians received our report with excitement and a promise of implementation in its independent pristine copy. While we keep our fingers crossed and hope for restitution for victims’ families, I must express how delighted I was to have worked with some of the most patriotic and committed Nigerians, I’ve ever met.
The committee members obviously had pedigree and names to protect, and therefore came with much vigour, credibility, and hunger to succeed. To think otherwise could not have been, considering the lives involved. Compromise was not an alternative as we maintained our independence. We all worked our hearts out, and the report was not even ready until late night on the eve of presentation on October 27.
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I’m proud of the teamwork, collaboration, and collective resolve to ensure succour in the form of justice for the benefit of the poor victims of the Minna mining tragedy, who had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time – the misfortune of being poor and unemployed, and the misfortune of being IDPs. Most of the victims were from some IDP camps scattered in parts of Niger State.
I’m also happy to have worked with highly placed professionals with capacity, who approached this important national assignment with zeal and tenacity. The background of our chairman is already in the public space as a retired Deputy Director-General of the Directorate of State Services, but there is more to him. Mr. Jonathan Kure, a thoroughbred, highly sought-after professional with an outstanding career in service, has a calm and disarming demeanour that can thaw ice-cold conflict. Under his leadership, all of us felt safe. He brought his competence, years of experience, and capacity to bear on the work and was able to manage the egos of nine highly competent and accomplished professionals.
I’m still amazed at our camaraderie, but the unprecedented level of cooperation between the committee chairman and secretary, Professor Isa Hayatu Chiroma, still amazes me. A law professor, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and former Director-General (DG) of the Nigerian Law School, he came with hands-on skills and administrative experience. Yet his loyalty to hierarchy and group decisions was impressive. Obviously well experienced and established in the workings of committees, Prof. Chiroma is every secretariat’s delight.
Starting from an accomplished technocrat with a lot of wisdom, who retired some 14 years ago as a permanent secretary, Alhaji Idris Adamu Kuta knows all the rules and guidelines governing the public service sector and offered them appropriately. And guess what? None of us knew he retired from the mines sector and unarguably knows it like the back of his palms. But because he represented the Minna Emirate Council on the committee, he kept faith with the traditional institution whose view he must project, and he did admirably. Imagine such a self-imposed discipline! Incidentally, the Emirate Council availed us of everything we needed to do our job, including space and other conveniences.
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Talking of a man of power, knowledge, and capacity, but still humble and calm, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) of Niger State, Alhaji Abubakar Usman, represented the state on the committee and used the opportunity to showcase the kind of people Governor Bago has in his cabinet – capable, proficient and hardworking. Despite his busy schedules, he made sure to be present through crucial sessions and difficult decisions when his opinions were needed.
The Minna triumvirate would not be complete without the mention of Liman Suleiman, the Secretary of the Miners Association representing the association on the committee. His quiet and gentle disposition belied his knowledge of the volatile but emerging powerful sector, as a former banker and businessman.
Dr. George Agbakahi is an intellectual powerhouse – hardworking and determined with the zeal to “crucify” offenders. He was fierce and made sure no stone was left unturned to ensure justice for the Minna 33. Without moderation, and with his volume of intellectual input, we would have “written a whole book” on the incident. He was that passionate, even as he paid attention to details.
AIG Hosea Hassan Karma (retd) is a big man not seemingly conscious of his social status; he is a personification of humility. He went to the basics of policing responsibility by serving as our “IPO-in-Chief.” Through his untiring efforts, we were able to extract vital information needed to conclude our final verdict of culpability on some of the suspects.
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Professior Mikhail Olayinka Buhari, is the popular histopathologist who eased our job with his practical knowledge of science and medicine. He got to Minna ahead of us, and his precursor work is central to our conclusion that 33 and not 37 died. His hard work, steadfastness and professionalism so stood out that he earned the chairman’s constant commendation.
Deji Adeyanju, a human rights activist and lawyer, though the youngest, was the most visible; he almost took the shine off our team. As an activist, he was easily recognised and given celebrity status. Deji applied his skills as a lawyer and interrogator, which proved very useful in getting the suspects to squeal and reveal information about the true situation of things, as if he were in a law court.
I’m still amazed at our camaraderie, but the unprecedented level of cooperation between the committee chairman and secretary, Professor Isa Hayatu Chiroma, still amazes me. A law professor, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and former Director-General (DG) of the Nigerian Law School, he came with hands-on skills and administrative experience. Yet his loyalty to hierarchy and group decisions was impressive. Obviously well experienced and established in the workings of committees, Prof. Chiroma is every secretariat’s delight. Versatile, organised, competent, and proficient, Professor Chiroma’s expertise exuded in the secretariat’s decent outcome. He had sleepless nights putting various annexures, appendices, and documents together. On the cooperation between him and the chairman, they still owe me an explanation on whether they knew or had worked together in the past. The bond was seamless.
Hajiya Zainab Okino (FNGE) is chairperson of the Editorial Board of Blueprint. She is a syndicated columnist and was a member of the Independent Investigation Committee on the deaths of persons in NSCDC custody, Niger State Command, Minna. She can can be reached via zainabokino@gmail.com
