Lawyer and human rights activist, Deji Adeyanju, has given conditions for accepting his appointment to the Federal Government’s committee investigating the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in Niger.
He said he had accepted the invitation to join the 10-member committee but would not accept any payment, stipend, or honorarium for his participation.
Adeyanju disclosed this in a statement posted on his X handle on Saturday, saying he accepted the assignment to protect the interests of the Niger miners and ensure that the circumstances surrounding their deaths were established.
‘I am joining the committee solely to protect the interests of the victims and ensure that the truth is established,’ he said.
Adeyanju also said he would personally bear the cost of his accommodation, transportation and other expenses incurred while carrying out the assignment.
He urged the Federal Government not to make any monetary provision for members of the committee, describing their participation as a national duty.
‘I will not accept any such payment, and I will not participate in or tolerate any attempt to compromise the investigation or cover up wrongdoing,’ he said.
Adeyanju further warned that he would expose any attempt to shield those responsible for the deaths or suppress the findings of the investigation.
‘If there is any attempt to shield those responsible or suppress the truth, I will expose it. The victims deserve justice, and the Nigerian factor as we know it must not be allowed to prevail,’ he said.
The Federal Government had constituted the independent committee to investigate the deaths of the 37 detainees reportedly arrested by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
The committee is chaired by a retired Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services, Jonathan Kure, while a former Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, Professor Isa Hayatu Chiroma, serves as secretary.