‘My Life Is At Risk’: Gombe Lecturer Alleges Police Arrest, NHRC Cover-Up After Raising Alarm Over Polluted Community Water

In a report dated June 15, 2026, SON said its officials inspected Gadaa Table Water Investment Link on June 9 following the allegation that the company was supplying RO reject water to members of the community for consumption.

SON, however, reported that it found no evidence that the company was supplying the reject water for human consumption.

The agency said the company was instead discharging the RO reject water into a drainage channel, adding that the management told investigators it had warned community members that the water was not safe for drinking.

SON further reported that some residents had expressed interest in using the water for domestic purposes.

According to the report, the company subsequently discontinued the release of the RO reject water and arranged for borehole water to be channelled directly into a well for use by members of the community

SON also advised that the electricity-related complaint be referred to the appropriate authority.

Hussaini, however, contends that the SON findings did not resolve the environmental concern he originally raised, arguing that whether the RO reject water was being sold or supplied for drinking was separate from the question of whether waste water was being discharged in a manner capable of contaminating a community water source.

He further alleged that other regulatory interventions supported his concerns about the environmental implications of the waste water.

Hussaini said that after his release from detention, he formally approached the Gombe State Environmental Protection Agency (GOSEPA) and the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), asking the agencies to investigate the water and the company’s handling of the RO waste.

He claimed that the agencies subsequently inspected the situation and directed the company to stop channelling RO waste water into the community well and provide clean borehole water to residents.

Hussaini said the police thereafter directed him back to the court where the original complaint had been filed, prompting him to apply for Certified True Copies of the case file.

He said the documents he eventually obtained included an investigation order, a direct criminal complaint and a final police investigation report.

According to him, the documents exonerated him from wrongdoing.

Armed with the documents, Hussaini said he approached the NHRC Gombe State Office to seek redress over what he described as violations of his fundamental human rights.

Rather than pursue the allegations concerning his arrest and the environmental dispute based on the existing regulatory findings, Hussaini accused the NHRC of inviting SON and NAFDAC and narrowing the issue to the alleged use of RO reject water for human consumption.

He described the approach as an attempt to “exonerate the factory,” an allegation the NHRC and the company would need to respond to.

The lecturer has also petitioned the Gombe State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, requesting criminal proceedings against Gadaa Links Investment Limited and Sa’adu Umar over alleged malicious frame-up, perjury and violation of his fundamental rights.

In his June 16, 2026 petition submitted through the NHRC, Hussaini asked the Attorney-General to exercise the powers of the office under Section 211 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, to initiate criminal proceedings.

He alleged that the complaint against him was fabricated to silence him after he raised concerns about the alleged discharge of RO waste water and issues relating to electricity infrastructure.

After receiving no response, he wrote directly to the Gombe State Ministry of Justice on June 29, 2026.

He subsequently sent a reminder dated July 20, 2026, stating that he had yet to receive any response or indication of action on his earlier petition.

Hussaini said he also staged a one-man protest at the Gombe State Ministry of Justice on July 20 and delivered another reminder concerning the petition.

He further complained that his efforts to obtain institutional support from the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had not produced the protection he expected.

According to him, he reported the matter to the ASUU chairman at the Federal University of Kashere on July 20 and subsequently raised it at the branch’s 39th special congress on July 23.

He said a professor at the meeting, identified as Prof. Ramadan, commented on the matter and urged the FUK ASUU branch to issue him a letter of commendation and notify the university of the circumstances surrounding his case.

Hussaini, however, alleged that although the local ASUU leadership initially promised to defend him, the support later stopped.

He said he subsequently wrote to the national leadership of ASUU through the branch and zonal structures.

The lecturer told SaharaReporters that he now fears for his safety because of the institutional resistance he says he has encountered since raising the environmental concerns.

“I am fighting these state institutions all alone, my safety and my life are at risk for trying to protect the people of my community from drinking poisoned water,” he said.

The documents supplied to SaharaReporters include correspondence from the NHRC, the SON investigation report, petitions to the Gombe State Attorney-General, a reminder to the Ministry of Justice, court orders, police investigation documents, correspondence relating to the NHRC investigation, and letters concerning his complaint to ASUU.

The case presents two distinct but interconnected issues: the environmental concerns surrounding the disposal of RO reject water and the lecturer’s allegations that his subsequent arrest and treatment by state institutions were retaliatory.

While SON’s June 15 report stated that the company was not supplying RO reject water to residents for human consumption, it also confirmed that the company’s RO reject water had been discharged into a drainage channel and that the company later stopped the discharge and arranged for borehole water to be supplied to the community.

The environmental implications of the discharge, as well as the circumstances surrounding Hussaini’s arrest and the handling of his complaints by the police, NHRC and Ministry of Justice, remain issues requiring responses from the relevant authorities.

SaharaReporters contacted the relevant authorities for their response to Hussaini’s allegations but, as of the time of publication, the lecturer’s account and the documents he supplied form the basis of this report.

Hussaini is calling for an independent investigation into the entire matter, including the environmental impact of the RO waste water, the circumstances of his arrest, the police investigation, the handling of his complaint by the NHRC and the failure of the state authorities to respond to his petitions.