The Coalition of Civil Societies For Transparency and Accountability has described as misguided and distractive, the call for the sack of the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Prof. Ahmed Abubakar Audi over the death of 37 suspected illegal miners in custody.
The call was made by a lawyer and human rights activist, Hamza N. Dantani, who in a petition to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, demanded the termination of Audi’s tenure and an independent investigation into allegations against him.
But in a press statement issued in Abuja on Friday, the National Coordinator of the Coalition, Comrade Bilal Galadima, said the demand was self-serving, selective.
untimely and mischievous.
The group recalled that the suspects were arrested during operations conducted on September 15 and 16 around Lt. Gen. Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi Estate in Minna.
It quoted NSCDC spokesperson, Babawale Afolabi, as saying that more than 50 people were arrested and were yet to be charged because profiling and documentation were still underway before the deaths occurred.
“Based on available information, the state commandant confessed he did not inform his boss about the arrest of the alleged illegal miners. They are presumed innocent until evidence is presented,” the coalition said.
The coalition noted that the Federal Government has already suspended the Niger State NSCDC Commandant and constituted a 10-member independent committee to investigate the incident, as directed by President Tinubu and the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
“At this sober moment, it is rather shocking that instead of awaiting the outcome of the different layers of investigation, Dantani and his associates chose to grandstand,” the statement said.
The CSO further questioned what it described as the petitioner’s selective activism.
“Where was the lawyer when a military drone killed 85 civilians gathered for a religious celebration in Tudun Biri, Kaduna State? Where was this lawyer when 16 civilians were killed in a military airstrike in Zurmi and Maradun Local Government in Zamfara State, similar accidental killing in Sokoto and Borno and he did not demand for the sack of the then military chiefs.
“We assume the petitioner was in Nigeria, knew about the killings and brutality during the #EndSARS protests, and yet failed to demand the dismissal of the then Inspector-General of Police,” the group queried.
The coalition called on Dantani and all Nigerians to allow the rule of law to take its full course and await the outcome of the probe committee set up by the Federal Government.