FG panel recommends dismissal, prosecution of officers over 37 miners’ deaths
By Goodness Ndukuba, Awka
The Federal Government’s investigative committee probing the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State has recommended the dismissal and prosecution of senior officers implicated in the incident.
The recommendation followed an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the detainees, who were arrested during operations against suspected illegal mining activities in the state in September.
President Bola Tinubu had ordered a comprehensive investigation into the incident, insisting that administrative sanctions against officers implicated in the deaths must not replace criminal prosecution where evidence of wrongdoing warrants it.
“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,” the President said.
Tinubu added that the investigation must establish whether misconduct, abuse of authority or negligence by any official contributed to the deaths.
“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,” he said.
The President directed the Ministry of Interior and the NSCDC leadership to cooperate fully with the investigation and ensure that no attempt was made to interfere with the process or obstruct efforts to establish the facts.
The Federal Government had earlier suspended the Niger State NSCDC Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, and 20 other officers pending the outcome of the investigation.
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, subsequently inaugurated a 10-member independent committee chaired by Jonathan Kure, a retired Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services, to investigate the deaths and recommend appropriate action.
The committee was mandated to establish the identities of the deceased, examine the circumstances of their arrest and detention, determine the cause and manner of death, and establish whether negligence, misconduct or other breaches of duty occurred.
Its investigation also covered conditions at the detention facility, the number of detainees held there and the medical attention provided before the deaths.
The NSCDC confirmed that the detainees died in its custody but initially said the cause of death had not been established. Reports of overcrowding and poor ventilation at the facility also emerged, while a survivor reportedly said about 65 people had been held in the cell.
The corps initially suggested that a disease outbreak might have contributed to the deaths, stressing that medical and laboratory examinations were required to establish the cause.
The committee had earlier sought and obtained a two-week extension to complete its assignment, citing delays in receiving forensic and pathology reports and the volume of evidence requiring examination.
Its chairman, Kure, had said the panel visited the detention facility in Minna, inspected the mining site and the NSCDC state headquarters, conducted autopsies and obtained statements from survivors, bereaved families, corps personnel and other witnesses.
The committee also said it needed to give suspended officers and other persons implicated in the incident an opportunity to respond before concluding its work.
The reported recommendation for dismissal and prosecution marks a significant development in the investigation into the deaths, which prompted calls for accountability and raised concerns about the treatment of detainees in security agency custody.
The recommendations are subject to the Federal Government’s response and any subsequent disciplinary or criminal proceedings.
Any officer recommended for prosecution remains entitled to due process, and criminal responsibility must be established through the courts.
