Interior Minister Suspends Niger NSCDC Commandant Over Deaths Of 37 Arrested Alleged Illegal Miners’ Detainees

The Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has ordered the immediate suspension of the Niger State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps Suberu Siyaka Aniviye following the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in NSCDC custody.
The minister directed that Aniviye remain suspended pending a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
“It is unfortunate incident; however, a full investigation will be conducted while the commandant under whose watch this happened remains suspended” Tunji-Ojo said in a statement.
He added that “we run a government whose ultimate priority is security of lives” and assured residents that the investigation would be conducted.
The suspects were arrested during NSCDC enforcement operations against suspected illegal mining activities in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State on September 15 and 16.
The NSCDC initially attributed the deaths to a suspected disease outbreak but later said no definitive cause had been established.
The Corps has directed that the circumstances surrounding the arrests the period the suspects spent in custody the detention conditions and the medical attention provided to them be investigated.

The NSCDC National Public Relations Officer Babawale Afolabi said the Corps would not speculate on the cause of death until the medical examination was completed.
“The corps will therefore refrain from speculation until the outcome of the medical examination is established” Afolabi said.
The Corps has also directed that the health and welfare of persons still in custody be given priority.
The suspension has brought renewed attention to the responsibility of security agencies for people held in their custody and the need to establish whether proper procedures were followed during the arrests and detention.
Questions have also emerged over the circumstances of some of the arrests.
Amnesty International Nigeria said the victims included minors and called for an independent investigation into the incident.
“This loss of lives cannot go unanswered” the organisation said while urging authorities to establish how the detention of the suspects “descended into a disaster that killed minors.”
Amnesty called for an investigation that would be prompt thorough independent impartial transparent and effective.
It also said anyone found responsible should face justice and that the victims and their families should have access to justice and effective remedies.
There have also been allegations from relatives concerning the conditions under which some of the suspects were detained.
Reuters reported that the mother of one detainee said she had visited her son in custody and found him in a cramped cell. She also alleged that relatives were prevented from delivering food to detainees and that money was demanded for their release.
Those allegations have not been independently established and the NSCDC did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment on them.
A separate account by a survivor alleged that detainees were held in an overcrowded and poorly ventilated cell and struggled for fresh air.
That account also remains an allegation and has not established the cause of the deaths.
The Niger State Police Command has commenced its own investigation while the state government has constituted a committee of inquiry.
The remains of the deceased have been deposited at the General Hospital Minna for autopsies and medical examinations.
Until those examinations are completed the cause of death remains unconfirmed.
The investigations are expected to establish not only what caused the deaths but also whether the arrests detention conditions medical care or conduct of any personnel contributed to the fatalities.

Mınna, Nıger State
Umaru Mohammed Bago
Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo

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Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu