Nigeria Sets Up Probe Panel After 37 Miners Die in NSCDC Custody
A 10-member panel will determine responsibility and possible negligence after survivors alleged overcrowding, poor ventilation and mistreatment in the detention cell.
- On Thursday, 37 suspected illegal miners died in a crowded cell at an NSCDC detention facility in Minna, Niger state; President Bola Tinubu ordered a full investigation, leading to the suspension of 20 officers pending the probe's conclusion.
- Survivors described being jam-packed into a poorly ventilated cell, contradicting initial NSCDC claims that a disease outbreak caused the deaths; detainees reported banging on doors for air while their pleas were ignored.
- Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo constituted a 10-member independent committee with two weeks to determine responsibility, complicity, and misconduct; he warned that obstruction of the probe will be treated as a serious offense.
- Protests erupted in Minna on Friday as crowds vandalized property, prompting authorities to impose a dusk-to-dawn curfew; Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar demanded accountability, warning against using junior officers as "sacrificial lambs."
- Governor Mohammed Bago suspended all mining activities across Niger state and ordered forensic examinations and autopsies to establish the cause of deaths, addressing broader concerns regarding detention standards and regulator accountability.
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FG launches probe into 37 deaths in NSCDC custody, suspends 21
Following the deaths of 37 individuals held in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Niger State Command, on suspicion of illegal mining, the federal government has constituted a ten-member committee to investigate the incident. The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed the move on Saturday, following a directive by President Bola […] FG launches probe into 37 deaths in NSCDC custody, suspends 21
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