The Federal Government has inaugurated a 10-member independent committee to investigate the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners who died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State.
Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo inaugurated the committee on Tuesday in Abuja, following President Bola Tinubu’s directive for a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
The detainees died on September 17 after they were arrested during NSCDC operations against suspected illegal mining in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State.
The cause of the deaths has not been established, with the Federal Government directing the panel to determine what happened.
The committee is chaired by retired Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services, Jonathan Kure, while former Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, Prof Isa Hayatu Chiroma, SAN, serves as secretary.
Other members are retired AIG Hosea Hassan Karma; Prof Olayinka Buhari, a professor of Histopathology and former Chief Medical Director of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital; representatives of the Minna Emirate Council and Niger State Government; National Secretary of the Miners Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Liman Sulaiman; human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju; Blueprint journalist Zainab Suleiman Okino; and public affairs analyst, Dr George Agbakahi.
The panel is expected to establish the identities of the deceased, examine their arrests and detention, determine the cause and circumstances of their deaths and establish whether responsibility, complicity, negligence or misconduct was involved.
It is also empowered to recommend appropriate action, including compensation where applicable, as well as measures to prevent a recurrence. The committee has two weeks to complete its investigation and submit its report to the Minister of Interior.
Tunji-Ojo said the composition of the panel should leave no excuse for justice to be denied, urging its members to maintain the integrity expected of them throughout the investigation.
“As you can see from the membership of this committee, there is absolutely no excuse for justice not to be done. Let your performance and your sustained integrity over the years justify what will be done,” the minister said.
The Federal Government had earlier suspended the Niger State NSCDC Commandant, Suberu Aniviye, and 20 other officers connected with the detention facility pending the outcome of the investigation.
The deaths have generated questions over the conditions under which the detainees were held. While the NSCDC initially linked the deaths to a suspected disease outbreak, survivor accounts have alleged overcrowding, extreme heat and other conditions inside the detention facility.
Those accounts remain subject to investigation, with authorities yet to establish the official cause of death.
The committee’s findings are expected to provide the Federal Government, the families of the deceased and the wider public with an official account of the circumstances surrounding the deaths and determine whether any individuals or institutions should be held responsible.
