ABUJA — An independent investigative panel appointed by the Federal Government has revealed that 37 illegal miners detained by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State died from asphyxiation (suffocation).
The Chairman of the 10-member committee and former Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Jonathan Kure, presented the investigation’s final report to the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Tuesday in Abuja.
The panel’s findings contradict earlier claims by the NSCDC, which had speculated that a diphtheria outbreak was responsible for the fatalities. Reports and survivor testimony indicate that extreme overcrowding and severe lack of ventilation were the primary causes, with roughly 65 suspects jammed into a single cell at the NSCDC state headquarters in Minna.
Following the initial incident, President Bola Tinubu ordered a comprehensive probe into the circumstances surrounding the arrests, detention conditions, and medical care provided.
President Tinubu reiterated that administrative actions against implicated personnel would not shield anyone from criminal accountability.
“The suspension of officers is only an administrative step and must not substitute for a proper determination of criminal responsibility where the evidence warrants prosecution,” President Tinubu stated. “We must never allow the pursuit of one form of illegality to create another. The government must enforce the law firmly, but it must also obey the law. The sanctity of human life is non-negotiable.”
To reach its conclusions, the Kure-led committee conducted autopsies, examined forensic data, visited the Minna detention facility and mining sites, and interviewed survivors, victims’ families, and NSCDC personnel.
With the report now officially submitted to the Ministry of Interior, legal and disciplinary actions against responsible officers are expected to follow.