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CONFLICTING accounts have continued to trail the deaths of 37 suspected illegal artisanal miners who died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State, with the Federal Government suspending 20 officers and the state commandant as part of measures to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The 37 detainees were among 66 suspected illegal artisanal gold miners arrested by NSCDC operatives during raids conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday in parts of the state.

The detainees reportedly died on Thursday, September 17, after being held at the NSCDC state command in Minna, amid allegations that they were kept in an overcrowded facility with inadequate ventilation.

Survivors give conflicting accounts

The circumstances surrounding the deaths, however, remain unclear, as survivors have given differing accounts of what happened before the mass fatalities.

One of the survivors, Dauda Shehu, said the detainees began experiencing severe breathing difficulties as the heat became unbearable inside the facility.

According to him, the detainees raised the alarm and called for help, but their pleas were allegedly not attended to.

He said some of the detainees subsequently began collapsing, with those at the extreme ends of the facility allegedly among the worst affected.

Shehu added that as more people collapsed and died, the detainees intensified their cries for help, but assistance did not come until the following morning, when several people had already died.

‘Officer sprayed scented substance’

Another survivor, Sadiq Sani, gave a different account, alleging that one of the guards who came around for a routine check sprayed a scented substance into the facility shortly before the detainees began experiencing difficulty breathing.

He said the detainees raised the alarm, but there was no response, adding that the person beside him began trembling violently before he died.

‘The situation in the facility became tense shortly after one of the officers on duty sprayed a scented substance directly into the facility. We all started experiencing difficulty breathing. We called for help, but it was not forthcoming,’ he stated.

Another survivor alleges dehydration

A third survivor, who declined to disclose his identity, alleged that some of the detainees died from dehydration, claiming that there was insufficient water available despite complaints of severe thirst.

He said some of the detainees attempted to force open the door of the facility when the situation became unbearable, but were unsuccessful.

Bago: Survivors gave different accounts

The Niger State governor, Umaru Bago, also acknowledged that conflicting accounts had emerged from survivors regarding the possible cause of the deaths.

According to him, one account suggested that the victims had foam around their mouths and blisters on their bodies, raising the possibility that they might have been exposed to chemicals associated with mining activities.

The uncertainty surrounding the cause of the deaths has heightened calls for an independent investigation.

Kogi, Taraba mining disasters raise fresh safety concerns

In a related development, the Kogi mining tragedy occurred on July 14, 2026, at Alufele Area, Enjema District, in Ankpa Local Government Area of the state, where a mining pit collapsed, killing several persons.

Similarly, another mining disaster was recorded in Taraba State on Thursday, September 17, at Mayo Kam community in Balu Local Government Area, with several persons reportedly losing their lives following the collapse of a mining pit.

The incidents, which occurred within a relatively short period, have heightened concerns over safety standards, regulatory enforcement and the conditions under which mining activities are carried out across the country.

They have also renewed calls for stronger government oversight, strict enforcement of mining safety regulations and improved measures to protect miners and residents of communities where mining activities take place.

FG suspends 20 NSCDC officers

Responding to the development, the Federal Government on Saturday suspended 20 NSCDC officers, including the Niger State Commandant, pending the outcome of an investigation into the incident.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, announced the measures following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive for a comprehensive, transparent and unhindered investigation into the deaths.

The government also constituted a 10-member independent committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Atiku demands independent probe, justice

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, and the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, to ensure a thorough investigation into the deaths of 37 persons in NSCDC custody in Niger State.

Atiku, who spoke on Saturday through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said the detainees were arrested alive and died under the authority of the state, stressing that suspensions alone were insufficient to address the incident.

‘Thirty-seven Nigerians went into government custody alive. Thirty-seven families got back corpses. Suspensions are not enough-the country deserves the truth, accountability and justice,’ he said.

He urged the Federal Government to explain the circumstances surrounding the deaths, noting that the state assumed responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of those in its custody.

Atiku said allegations by survivors that the detainees were held in an overcrowded and poorly ventilated cell should be subjected to an independent investigation.

He noted that the Ministry of Interior, which supervises the NSCDC, and the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, which oversees the mining sector, had roles to play in ensuring accountability in enforcement operations.

The former vice president also said President Tinubu, as head of government, bore overall responsibility for ensuring that the investigation was credible and transparent.

Recalling the 2014 Nigeria Immigration Service recruitment exercise, during which some applicants died, Atiku said the supervising minister at the time was investigated and prosecuted in connection with the exercise. He argued that similar standards of accountability should apply to the Niger State incident.

FG sets up panel

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has suspended 20 officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), in addition to the Niger State Commandant of the Corps, over the deaths of 37 persons held in NSCDC custody

The government has also constituted a 10-member independent committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths, which occurred on Thursday, September 17.

Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, announced the measures on Saturday, following a directive by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a comprehensive, transparent and unhindered investigation into the incident.

The committee, chaired by retired Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mr Jonathan Kure, is mandated to establish the identities of the deceased and investigate the circumstances surrounding their arrest, detention and deaths.

It is also expected to determine responsibility, complicity, negligence or misconduct and recommend appropriate action, including compensation where applicable, as well as measures to prevent a recurrence.

Other members include Professor Isa Hayatu Chiroma (SAN), former Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, as secretary; retired AIG Hosea Hassan Karma; Professor Olayinka Buhari, 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; Alhaji Liman Sulaiman, National Secretary, Miners Association of Nigeria; lawyer and human rights activist, Deji Adeyanju; Mrs Zainab Suleiman Okino of Blueprint Newspaper; and Dr George Agbakahi, a public affairs analyst.

The committee has two weeks to submit its report to the minister and may co-opt relevant experts, access facilities and documents, visit relevant locations and request memoranda from members of the public.

Those suspended

The 20 suspended officers include the Officer-in-Charge of Station Guard, SC Usman Isah Ndamaka; Station Guard, ASCI Hassan Mohammed; Station Guard, CCA Bala Mohammed; Arresting Officer/Officer-in-Charge of Investigation, CSC Oluwadare Sunday; Arresting Officer, DCC Obafemi Elvis; and Arresting Officer, CSC Annas Shitto Lamino.

Others are HOD INT/INV, DCC Philip Ajayi; Officer-in-Charge of Legal, ACC Barr. Stephen Tsado; Day/Night Duty Officer, ASCI Alhassan Mohammed; and Guard Duty Officers IC Abdullahi Sale, IC Mohammed Sonfada, CAI Liman Abubakar, CAI Bala Usman, IC Mohammed Jiya, DSC Isah Suleiman, CAI Ahmed Wushishi, IC Sale Adamu, IC Haruna Mohammed, ASCI Aliyu Sallah and CAI Isah Sanusi.

SAN demands answers

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Abdul Mohammed, also called for urgent answers and accountability over the deaths.

Speaking on ARISE News, Mohammed said once the state took a person into custody, it assumed heightened responsibility for the individual’s safety, health, dignity and wellbeing.

He stressed that being arrested or suspected of committing an offence did not strip a person of fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

SDP, APM call for investigation

Similarly, the Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, condemned the deaths and called for a full-scale investigation.

A statement issued by his campaign’s Chief Communications Adviser, Mark Adebayo, described the incident as a serious violation of human rights and called for accountability over the deaths.

The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) also demanded an urgent and transparent investigation.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Yusuf, expressed concern over both the deaths and reports of protests by residents following the incident.

The APM also condemned the reported use of force against protesters, warning that such actions could result in further loss of lives.

MBF, CLO seek detention facilities reform

The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) and the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) separately called for independent investigations and reforms of detention facilities operated by security agencies across the country.

The MBF, through its spokesman, Luka Binniyat, described the deaths as an extraordinary tragedy and said the circumstances under which the detainees were held must be investigated.

It also rejected the description of the victims as ‘illegal miners’ as justification for their deaths, insisting that allegations of criminality could not substitute for due process.

The North-Central Coordinator of the CLO, Steve Aluko, similarly called for a thorough investigation to determine the circumstances that led to the deaths and urged that anyone found culpable should be prosecuted.

He said the incident should also prompt a wider examination of detention conditions across security agencies in the country.

CISLAC demands prosecution of culpable NSCDC officers

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), the Nigerian chapter of Transparency International, has called for the prosecution of any officers or officials found culpable in the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State.

In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Comrade Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, the organisation expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and called for the involvement of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), civil society representatives and forensic experts in the investigation.

Rafsanjani also demanded that the findings of the investigation, including relevant detention records and medical reports, be made public.

Foundation demands probe into NSCDC custody deaths, pit collapses in Kogi, Taraba

The Media for Social Change Foundation has also expressed concern over the rising fatalities in Nigeria’s mining sector, calling for an independent investigation into the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners.

In a press statement issued on Saturday and co-signed by its co-founders, Boluwaji Obahopo and Opeyemi Owoeye, the foundation drew attention to similar recent incidents in Kogi and Taraba states, where more than 40 Nigerians reportedly lost their lives in mining pit collapses.

According to the foundation, the frequency of mining-related deaths points to a disturbing pattern that requires urgent government attention.

Reacting to the Niger State incident, the organisation described the deaths as deeply troubling, particularly because the victims died after being taken into state custody.

While acknowledging that autopsies and forensic examinations were underway to establish the exact cause of death, the foundation insisted that the circumstances surrounding the victims’ arrest, detention and deaths must be subjected to an independent and transparent investigation.

It called for accountability and stronger safety measures across the mining sector to prevent further loss of lives.

Cause of deaths remains unresolved

With the government investigation now underway, the cause of the deaths and the circumstances that led to the fatalities remain unresolved.

The outcome of the independent panel’s investigation is expected to establish what happened inside the NSCDC facility, determine whether negligence or misconduct occurred and identify those responsible, if any.

The abundant human, solid mineral, and agro-allied resources available in Adamawa State, if properly harnessed and maintained, can transform the state into one of the richest and most industrialized in the country.

Mr. Christopher Nathaniel, the governorship candidate for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Adamawa, expressed this during an interaction with journalists in Yola. He stated that if elected governor, he would turn the state into an industrial hub.

He emphasized that Adamawa is richly endowed with natural resources that rival those of other states but lamented that these resources have not been adequately utilized.

Nathaniel explained that his primary motivation for wanting to govern the state is to harness these resources for the benefit of the people, focusing on agro-produce, livestock, and mineral resources.

He aims to ensure that everything is processed into finished products before leaving the state.

‘Apart from solid minerals, the land is also fertile for agro-allied production, using the available dams and by creating small earth dams that will serve both farmers and herders,’ he said.

He added that the livestock resources available in the state could also become a major source of revenue.

‘The meat, milk, skin and bones will all be assets of great value to the state, if given the chance to govern Adamawa state, I will turn cattle market into an industry were everything about the cattle will exported and improve our internally generated revenue.

‘All we need to do as a state is to key into the federal government’s livestock programme by creating ranches with dams to provide water for cattle instead of allowing them to enter people’s farmlands.

This will address the security challenges arising from conflicts between farmers and herders,’ he said.

The SDP candidate commended the administration of the incumbent governor for its infrastructural development, particularly the construction of modern schools in the 21 local government areas of the state.

He noted that the facilities provided in the schools are underutilised, stressing that they could be put to better use if boarding and accommodation facilities were provided for students and teachers, adding that future stars could be discovered and nurtured.

‘I know the security challenges we are facing across the country. To prevent attacks on schools, we can adopt a tripartite approach involving human intelligence, religious and traditional institutions, as well as technology,’ he said.

The governorship hopeful added that for him to achieve these laudable programs the media must be well positioned to carry out it’s primary responsibility.

‘I will invest heavily on the media, the elderly through formation of ‘ Elders council from all 226 wards in the state, this I tell you will address our security problems to a great extent’.

The welfare of civil servants will be a priority ‘ I want to see civil servants happily go to work as it were in the past where a graduate is employed, he gets a house and a car, it can be done again when we make Adamawa a producing and not a consuming state’

SOMETIME this year, I was alerted to the presence of an owl perching on the PHCN line overlooking my apartment. And so what, I asked! The response I got shocked me: Don’t you know that owls are evil birds? I quickly jumped out of bed! I really never knew anything about owls. I went to my window and saw it. I began to ‘bind and cast’. I followed this up by picking up a stone and going after it. It flew away before I could reach it. Days later, the owl appeared again. I went after it again with prayer and action. Again, it flew away before I could reach it. Every night afterwards I checked the PHCN line before going to bed and whenever I woke up in the night. There was no sight of it. Still, I prayed.

Not long afterwards, a classmate and friend who had suffered a stroke earlier died. He was 69. Shortly afterwards, my in-law, a mentor, died at the age of 89. Then real tragedy struck in the same month with the death of his daughter and my niece, at 54. In July alone, a chorister in my church lost her father who was 65. My panel beater lost a 14-year-old child; a pastor friend died at a relatively young age, and then another schoolmate and professional colleague also passed on at the age of 67. More deaths of colleagues and known faces have since followed.

Are owls evil birds? Are they the harbingers or messengers of death? This is what Google has to say about this mysterious bird: ‘No, owls are not evil birds; they are simply wild, nocturnal animals fulfilling a natural role in the environment.’

But owls, all the same, have a really bad reputation. Their nocturnal lifestyle is one. They hunt and move around in the dark and people historically associate darkness with fear and the unknown. Owls also fly silently: Their specialised feathers let them fly completely silently, causing them to appear suddenly out of nowhere.

They also have human-like facial features, with their forward-facing eyes giving them an intense, penetrating gaze that can feel uncanny or unsettling. Owls’ eerie sounds, strange screeches, clicks, and hoots in the dead of night have also fuelled ghost stories for centuries. There are also a lot of cultural myths and superstitions pertaining to owls. Many cultures around the world historically view owls as bad omens or messengers of death.

‘In general, owls are viewed as harbingers of bad luck, ill health, or death. The belief is widespread even today.’ According to Wikipedia, this belief cuts across the globe. Among the Kikuyu of Kenya, it was believed that owls were harbingers of death. If one saw an owl or heard its hoot, someone was going to die.

In the Americas, the culture of the Uto-Aztec tribe, the Hopi, has ‘taboos surrounding owls, which are associated with sorcery and other evils. The Aztecs and Maya, along with other natives of Mesoamerica, considered the owl a symbol of death and destruction. In fact, the Aztec god of death, Mictlantecuhtli, was often depicted with owls. There is an old saying in Mexico that is still in use: ‘When the owl cries/sings, the Indian dies’.

‘The Popol Vuh, a Mayan religious text, describes owls as messengers of Xibalba (the Mayan ‘Place of Fright’). The belief that owls are messengers and harbingers of the dark powers is also found among the Hocagara (Winnebago) of Wisconsin. When in earlier days the Hocagara committed the sin of killing enemies while they were within the sanctuary of the chief’s lodge, an owl appeared and spoke to them in the voice of a human, saying, ‘From now on the Hocagara will have no luck.’ This marked the beginning of the decline of the tribe. An owl appeared to Glory of the Morning, the only female chief of the Hocak nation, and uttered her name. Soon afterwards she died.

‘People often allude to the reputation of owls as bearers of supernatural danger when they tell misbehaving children, ‘the owls will get you.’ Also, in the Cherokee culture, as well as many other Native American cultures, owls are a very bad omen. It is said that if you are outside in broad daylight and an owl flies over your head, a family member or loved one would die within the coming week. In the Middle East, Arab mythology sees owls as bad omens.’

Some other cultures, however, see owls in a different light, i.e. as a wise creature (for example, Hinduism in India). In Japan, souvenir shops display little owl figurines that are supposed to bring good luck. The Japanese word for owl is ‘fukurou’, and the first part of the word (‘fuku’) can be written with the same character as ‘luck’ or the whole word can literally be written as ‘no suffering/troubles’.

So, what is it really about owls? It would appear owls signify different strokes for different people – and for different reasons as well. Superstition exists everywhere. And every superstitious belief has a logic behind it. Most of the time, this is woven around the fear of the unknown and the recoil from what Cicero, a Roman philosopher, called the ultimate evil.

Cicero, also noted for his oratorical gift, defined the Latin term ‘summum malum’ as ‘the highest evil’ and ‘summum bonum’ as ‘the highest good’ in his foundational ethical treatise titled ‘On the Ends of Good and Evil’. He reportedly used these concepts to compare how different ancient Greek schools such as the Stoics, Epicureans, and Peripatetics defined the ultimate goal of human life (summum bonum) vis-a-vis what they sought most to avoid (summum malum). Cicero, however, merely built on the thoughts of earlier ancient Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle.

Thomas Hobbes, another Western philosopher and famous author of the ‘Leviathan’ (1651), rejected the idea of a universal ‘summum bonum’ due to conflicting human desires, but agreed that a definitive ‘summum malum’ did exist: the fear of violent death.

What is certain, and which is known to all civilisations, is that the traffic between heaven and earth is never ending; and that this is as sure as day follows night. As Orlando Owoh crooned, just as babies are born on a daily basis, so also do people die – owl or not owl. Were the universe to be rid of owls, people would still die! All the same, because I am not Japanese, owls are not the kind of birds I love to see!

ýIn the life of any institution, recognition means little when it is detached from results. But when an honour follows measurable achievements, it becomes a useful reminder that hard work is being noticed and that a new direction is beginning to make an impact.

ýThis is the context in which Bashir Bayo Ojulari’s emergence as the 2026 Leadership Newspapers CEO of the Year (Public Sector) should be viewed.

ýThe recognition comes at a particularly important moment for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, as the national oil company records stronger financial performance, attracts fresh investment, advances critical oil and gas projects and pursues reforms aimed at making the organisation more efficient, transparent and commercially competitive.

ýThe figures behind the recognition make the story even more compelling. In the first six months of 2026, NNPCL recorded N19.04 trillion in revenue and N2.28 trillion in profit after tax. Between January and July, the company remitted N7.913 trillion in statutory payments to the Federation Account, including N1.627 trillion in July alone. For an institution whose fortunes have a direct bearing on Nigeria’s public finances, these figures are significant. They suggest that the reform conversation at NNPCL is increasingly being accompanied by measurable financial outcomes.

ýOjulari assumed leadership of NNPCL at a difficult period for Nigeria’s petroleum industry. Production challenges, infrastructure deficiencies, investor uncertainty and years of accumulated institutional problems had combined to weaken confidence in one of the country’s most important economic institutions.

ýHis extensive experience in the oil and gas industry, including his years at Shell and subsequent involvement in energy investment and management, gave him the technical and commercial background required for the task ahead. What has followed is an effort to move NNPCL from simply being a national oil company to becoming a more disciplined, competitive and commercially minded energy enterprise.

ýAt the heart of this transformation is a renewed emphasis on commercial discipline. Under Ojulari, NNPCL has strengthened performance reporting, restored regular remittances to the Federation Account and expanded its engagement with investors and the market. The company has also maintained compliance with its joint venture cash call obligations and reinstated practices that enhance transparency and accountability. These changes may appear administrative, but they are fundamental to building an institution whose financial and operational performance can be properly assessed.

ýThe upstream sector offers another important measure of the reforms. Ojulari has outlined a three pronged strategy built around protecting existing production, accelerating projects capable of delivering additional barrels in the near term and restructuring the company’s portfolio to create opportunities for new investors. The philosophy is both practical and necessary. Nigeria cannot sustainably increase production if existing assets are allowed to deteriorate while attention is concentrated only on future projects. Asset integrity, therefore, has become an important part of the new thinking, with greater emphasis on maintenance, efficiency and getting the maximum value from existing infrastructure.

ýPerhaps even more significant is the investment response. Ojulari recently disclosed that reforms in the sector had unlocked more than $24 billion in fresh investments from two projects, with another $10 billion currently in the pipeline. That places the potential investment pipeline at about $34 billion. In an industry where capital is extremely sensitive to uncertainty, such developments represent a meaningful shift in investor sentiment. Capital naturally moves towards environments where rules are clearer, risks are manageable and projects have a credible path to profitability. Nigeria’s challenge is now to sustain that confidence.

ýThe Petroleum Industry Act has provided an important foundation for this emerging investment climate. Improved regulatory clarity has helped address some of the bottlenecks that previously slowed projects and complicated investment decisions. Long-delayed Final Investment Decisions are beginning to move, while previously troubled assets are receiving renewed attention. The lesson is clear: when policy stability, regulatory efficiency and political commitment work together, projects that once appeared difficult can begin to move. The responsibility now is to ensure that this consistency is maintained because investors making long-term commitments need confidence that the rules will remain predictable.

ýOjulari’s reform agenda also recognises that Nigeria’s energy future cannot depend on crude oil alone. His strong emphasis on natural gas and gas infrastructure reflects a broader understanding of the role energy must play in industrial development. Progress on the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben and Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipelines, among other projects, could strengthen domestic gas supply and support power generation, fertiliser production, manufacturing and other industries. Gas is therefore being positioned not merely as another commodity but as an important foundation for economic expansion and energy security.

ýTechnology is another defining feature of the new approach. Nigeria has accumulated decades of geological, seismic and operational information since commercial oil production began in 1956, yet much of this data remains underutilised. Ojulari’s advocacy for digitalisation, artificial intelligence and the systematic mining of historical data reflects the reality of a modern petroleum industry in which information is itself an asset. Properly deployed, technology can improve exploration, reduce downtime, cut costs, strengthen safety and make production more efficient. For Nigeria, turning old data into new intelligence could become one of the less visible but most consequential aspects of the reform programme.

ýThe company has also reported substantial savings through contract restructuring and optimisation, alongside increases in crude and gas production. NNPCL’s exploration and production arm has recorded significantly higher output, while improvements in crude recovery at export terminals point to greater operational efficiency. These developments matter because production figures alone do not tell the whole story. The real measure of performance is the ability to increase output while controlling costs, reducing waste and ensuring that a greater proportion of the value created reaches the Nigerian state.

ýThe recognition of Ojulari extends beyond the Leadership Newspapers award. Earlier in 2026, he was conferred with the Fellowship of the Energy Institute in the United Kingdom, an honour associated with senior figures who have made significant contributions to the energy sector. Such international recognition, coming alongside the domestic award, indicates that the changes taking place at NNPCL are attracting attention beyond Nigeria’s borders.

ýThere is still a considerable distance to cover. Nigeria’s oil and gas sector remains exposed to security challenges, infrastructure constraints, changing global energy markets and the constant need for fresh capital. The ambition to reach three million barrels per day will not be achieved through declarations or awards. It will require sustained investment, efficient project execution, reliable infrastructure, regulatory consistency and technological innovation. Ojulari’s three-stage strategy acknowledges this reality by combining the protection of existing production with accelerated growth and portfolio restructuring.

ýThis is why the reforms at NNPCL deserve continuity rather than unnecessary disruption. Significant reforms will inevitably challenge established practices and interests, particularly in a sector where inefficiency has historically created room for waste and rent seeking. But the answer should be to strengthen accountability and improve the reforms, not to abandon the direction of change.

ýUltimately, the Leadership Newspapers CEO of the Year award should be viewed as more than a personal achievement for Bayo Ojulari. It is an acknowledgement of a period in which NNPCL has begun to demonstrate stronger financial performance, renewed investor appeal, greater attention to operational efficiency and a clearer commercial direction.

ýThe journey is far from complete, but the evidence suggests that the company has gained momentum. If that momentum is sustained, Ojulari’s most important recognition may not be the award on his shelf, but the emergence of an NNPCL that consistently delivers greater value to Nigeria.