21 NSCDC PERSONNEL FACE SUSPENSION OVER DEATHS OF 37 NIGER DETAINEES

The Federal Government has suspended the Niger State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Suberu Aniviye, alongside 20 other officers following the deaths of 37 people in the Corps’ custody. The affected personnel will remain suspended while an independent investigation determines what happened to the detainees and establishes whether any of the officers bears responsibility for the incident.

The suspension was announced by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, in a statement issued on Saturday. It came alongside the formation of a 10-member independent committee tasked with investigating the deaths, which occurred on Thursday, September 17, 2026. The committee is expected to establish the identities of those who died and examine the circumstances surrounding their arrest, detention and subsequent deaths.

The minister directed the panel to determine the cause and circumstances of the deaths and establish whether there was any responsibility, complicity, negligence or misconduct on the part of individuals or authorities involved. It was also mandated to recommend appropriate measures and compensation where applicable. The 20 officers suspended alongside the state commandant are SC Usman Isah Ndamaka, ASCI Hassan Mohammed, CCA Bala Mohammed, CSC Oluwadare Sunday, DCC Obafemi Elvis, CSC Annas Shitto Lamino, DCC Philip Ajayi, ACC Barr. Stephen Tsado, ASCI Alhassan Mohammed and IC Abdullahi Sale.

Others are IC Mohammed Sonfada, CAI Liman Abubakar, CAI Bala Usman, IC Mohammed Jiya, DSC Isah Suleiman, CAI Ahmed Wushishi, IC Sale Adamu, IC Haruna Mohammed, ASCI Aliyu Sallah and CAI Isah Sanusi. Their respective roles included station guard duties, arrest and investigation responsibilities, intelligence and investigation, legal duties, night duty and general guard duties at the facility where the detainees were held.

The deceased were among scores of suspected illegal miners arrested during NSCDC enforcement operations in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State on September 15 and 16. The Corps said the operation was aimed at tackling illegal mining and that several exhibits were recovered. Some of those arrested were later found dead in NSCDC custody in Minna. The Corps initially attributed the deaths to a suspected disease outbreak and said the bodies had been taken to General Hospital, Minna, for medical examination, but the actual cause remained unconfirmed. A survivor, Dauda Shehu, alleged that detainees were held in a poorly ventilated cell where they struggled to breathe, while another survivor claimed that a substance resembling perfume was sprayed inside the overcrowded cell before some detainees collapsed. The incident triggered protests in Minna, prompting the Niger State Government to impose a curfew, while Governor Umar Bago ordered a state-level inquiry. President Bola Tinubu has also directed a comprehensive investigation into the deaths.