Niger Miners’ Deaths: Families Demand Compensation, Justice for Victims
Niger Miners’ Deaths: FG Suspends 21 NSCDC Officers, Releases Names
The Federal Government has suspended 21 officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), including the Niger State Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, following the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the Corps’ custody in Minna, Niger State.
The suspension followed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive for a full, transparent and unhindered investigation into the incident, which has triggered public concern over custodial conditions, treatment of detainees and accountability within security agencies.
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, announced the suspension of 20 additional officers on Saturday, September 19, bringing the total number of suspended NSCDC personnel connected with the incident to 21.
The officers suspended are:
The suspensions are administrative measures pending the outcome of the investigation and do not in themselves establish criminal or disciplinary guilt.
The Federal Government has also constituted a 10-member independent committee to establish what happened, identify the deceased and investigate their arrest, detention and deaths.
The committee is expected to determine the cause and circumstances of the deaths and establish whether there was negligence, misconduct, complicity or other wrongdoing. It is also mandated to recommend appropriate action and compensation where applicable.
The panel is chaired by retired Department of State Services Deputy Director-General Jonathan Kure, while Professor Isa Hayatu Chiroma, SAN, former Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, serves as secretary.
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Other members include retired AIG Hosea Hassan Karma, Professor Olayinka Buhari, representatives of the Minna Emirate Council and Niger State Government, Liman Sulaiman of the Miners Association of Nigeria, human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju, journalist Zainab Suleiman Okino of Blueprint Newspaper and public affairs analyst Dr George Agbakahi.
The committee has two weeks to complete its assignment and submit its report to the Minister of Interior. It can visit relevant locations, access documents and facilities, receive memoranda from members of the public and co-opt experts where necessary.
The deaths occurred after NSCDC personnel carried out operations against suspected illegal mining around the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State on September 15 and 16.
The NSCDC said scores of suspected illegal miners were arrested during the operation, with various exhibits recovered. The detainees were subsequently held at an NSCDC facility in Minna.
The number of people detained has, however, emerged as one of the issues requiring clarification.
Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago said 67 artisanal and suspected illegal miners were detained in NSCDC cells before 37 died. He said the detainees were held in three cells and that investigators were examining overcrowding and possible exposure to hazardous substances among the possible explanations for the deaths.
The governor stressed that the actual cause of death has not been established and called for urgent autopsies, medical examinations and forensic analysis.
He said medical, forensic and biological teams had been deployed to collect samples and examine evidence that could help determine what happened.
The state government is also examining whether people detained during the operation were all involved in illegal mining and whether some of those arrested were simply working around the affected areas.
The Nigeria Police Force has separately commenced an investigation into the deaths.
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Police authorities have secured the scene in an effort to preserve evidence and prevent the removal or alteration of material that could assist investigators. The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, inspected the location alongside other officials as investigators began efforts to establish what happened.
The Federal Government has also deployed mining and technical experts to Niger State to assist with the investigation.
The experts are expected to establish whether activities at the mining sites, exposure to hazardous substances or other environmental and technical factors could have contributed to the deaths.
The NSCDC initially said the deaths could have been linked to a suspected disease outbreak, but the actual cause has not been established and medical and laboratory examinations are expected to provide further evidence.
Survivors, however, have given accounts raising concerns about the conditions inside the detention facility.
One survivor, Dauda Shehu, reportedly said a large number of detainees were packed into a poorly ventilated cell and began struggling to breathe.
The accounts have raised the possibility of suffocation linked to overcrowding, although this has not been established as the cause of death.
Governor Bago has also said investigators are examining possible exposure to poisonous or hazardous substances associated with mining activities as another line of inquiry.
The competing explanations have made the forensic investigation particularly important, with authorities expected to establish whether the deaths resulted from illness, suffocation, poisoning, environmental exposure or another cause.
The deaths sparked protests in Minna, with demonstrators gathering around the NSCDC headquarters and demanding answers.
Security personnel deployed to the area used tear gas to disperse protesters as the situation became tense. The unrest prompted the Niger State Government to impose a curfew in the state capital.
The incident comes amid intensified government efforts to tackle illegal mining in Nigeria, an activity authorities have linked to environmental degradation, destruction of farmland and other security concerns.
The Federal Government has maintained that the campaign against illegal mining will continue but that enforcement must be carried out lawfully and with respect for human dignity.
Human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju, who is a member of the Federal Government’s investigative committee, has rejected any payment or honorarium for his participation, describing his involvement as a national duty.
Adeyanju has also said he would personally bear expenses connected with his participation and vowed to oppose any attempt to compromise the investigation, suppress evidence or shield anyone found responsible.
With the 21 NSCDC officers suspended, the police preserving evidence, forensic examinations underway and technical experts deployed, investigators are expected to establish the identities of the deceased, the number of people detained, the conditions in which they were held, the medical attention they received and the precise events that preceded the deaths.
Until those investigations and medical examinations are completed, the definitive cause of death of the 37 miners remains unresolved.
The outcome of the inquiry could determine whether disciplinary measures, criminal proceedings or other sanctions are warranted against any individual or institution found to have violated the law or failed in its responsibilities.
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