The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has paraded its suspended Niger State Commandant, Commandant Suberu Aniviye, and other officers linked to the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in its custody.
The officers were presented at the NSCDC National Headquarters in Sauka, Abuja, on Sunday as the Corps briefed journalists on preliminary findings into the incident.
The 37 detainees died on Thursday, days after they were arrested during anti-illegal mining operations in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State on September 15 and 16.
NSCDC National Public Relations Officer, Assistant Commandant Babawale Afolabi, led the briefing as the Corps provided an update on the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
The incident has generated intense scrutiny over how the detainees were arrested, transported and held before their deaths.
The NSCDC initially attributed the fatalities to a suspected disease outbreak, while indicating that medical examinations would be required to establish the actual cause.
That explanation has since come under closer examination following reports of overcrowding and poor detention conditions from survivors and relatives of some of the detainees.
Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, previously disclosed that 67 artisanal and suspected illegal miners had been held at an NSCDC facility before 37 died.
Bago said the precise cause had not been established, while possible suffocation linked to overcrowding and exposure to hazardous substances were among the issues being considered.
New Daily Prime earlier reported that the Federal Government had deployed a team to investigate the deaths, while the Niger State Government suspended mining activities across the state pending the outcome of investigations.
The newspaper also reported President Bola Tinubu’s directive for a comprehensive and transparent investigation, with the President insisting that the circumstances surrounding the deaths must be thoroughly examined.
The Federal Government subsequently suspended Aniviye and 20 other NSCDC officers in connection with the incident.
Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo also constituted a 10-member independent committee to establish the identities of those who died, examine their arrest and detention, determine the cause of death and investigate the circumstances surrounding the fatalities.
The committee has two weeks to complete its assignment.
The NSCDC had separately established an internal investigative team to examine the detainees’ condition upon arrest, their treatment in custody, the detention environment and the medical attention provided to them.
The parade of the affected personnel therefore forms part of a widening investigation involving both the Corps and the Federal Government.
Questions surrounding custodial conditions have also attracted attention from human rights groups. Amnesty International has called for an independent investigation, particularly because some of those detained were reportedly minors.
The deaths have also sparked protests in Minna, where authorities imposed a curfew after clashes between demonstrators and security personnel.
The government’s investigation is expected to establish whether the deaths resulted from illness, overcrowding, exposure to hazardous substances, inadequate medical care or other circumstances.
President Tinubu had previously made clear that administrative measures such as suspension should not substitute for determining possible criminal responsibility where wrongdoing is established.
The investigation will consequently have to go beyond identifying the immediate cause of death and examine the chain of events from the miners’ arrest to their detention and eventual deaths.
The outcome could determine whether any of the officers or other individuals involved face further disciplinary or legal action.
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