• Obi’s media office urges Alake to fix sector

Human rights lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, has vowed to expose any attempt to cover up wrongdoings in the probe of the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the NSCDC custody.

In the meantime, the Media Office of the Presidential Candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has accused the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, of diverting attention from the mining sector crisis by attacking the former Anambra State governor.

The media office urged the minister to first account for the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the 37 suspected illegal miners before commenting on Obi’s disputed records as Anambra State governor.

Speaking yesterday on Channels Television’s programme following his appointment as a member of the federal independent committee investigating the deaths, Adeyanju explained that his desire to represent the interests of the victims and ensure that the circumstances surrounding their deaths were fully established prompted his decision to serve on the committee.

He pledged that the investigation would not be used to suppress facts or shield anyone found culpable.

Responding to the concerns over his appointment despite his perceived anti-government stance, the lawyer argued that the assignment should not be viewed simply as a government appointment, given the nature of the incident being investigated.

However, in a statement yesterday by its spokesman, Idris Zekeri Jnr, the group said Alake’s attack on Obi was a distraction from what it called the minister’s responsibility for the “catastrophic failures” in the solid minerals sector.

According to the group, the deaths should demand the full attention of the ministry, rather than political exchanges over the record of a former state governor. It further questioned the regulation of mining activities, particularly the continued involvement of young Nigerians in illegal and unsafe mining operations.

The group insisted that the deaths represented more than statistics, arguing that they involved young Nigerians whose lives were lost amid concerns over illegal mining, detention conditions and regulatory failures.