NSCDC arrests three more officers over Niger miners’ deaths

Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor 

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has arrested and detained three additional personnel in connection with the deaths of thirty-seven suspected illegal miners in Niger State, bringing the total number of officers in custody to twenty-four, as the Corps declared a three-day mourning period and pledged full accountability for the tragedy.

The arrests were announced on Sunday in Abuja by the NSCDC Spokesman, Assistant Commandant of Corps Babawale Afolabi, in a statement confirming that the three additional personnel identified as linked to the incident had been suspended, raising the figure from the initial twenty-one. “As against the initial figure of 21 personnel, the three more personnel identified have also been placed on suspension, thereby bringing the total to 24 personnel. They are among the officers paraded at the Corps Headquarters,” Afolabi said. He disclosed that all affected officers and men of the Niger State Command had been taken into protective custody at the NSCDC National Headquarters in Abuja since September 17, 2026, where they are undergoing rigorous interrogation and administrative disciplinary action. The personnel, he added, would be made available to the Presidential Independent Investigation Committee and other investigative panels for further investigation and possible prosecution.

The officers currently held include the suspended Niger State Commandant, Commandant Suberu Siyaka Aniviye; DCC Ajayi Philips, Head of Intelligence and Investigation; DCC John Agrahau Chagwa, Head of Operations; DCC Obafemi Elvis; ACC Stephen Tsado, Officer-in-Charge of Legal; CSC Oluwadare Sunday; CSC Annas Shittu Lamino; SC Usman Isah Ndamaka; DSC Aminu Sule Garba; DSC Musa Marafa; DSC Isah Sulaiman; ASCI Hassan Muhammad; ASCI Alhassan Muhammad; Aliyu Sallah; IC Abdullahi Sale; IC Mohammed N. Sonfada; Mohammed Jiya; Sale Adamu; Haruna Muhammed; CCA Baba Muhamma; CAI Isah Sanusi; CAI Liman Abubakar; CAI Bala Usman; and CAI Ahmed Wushishi. The Commandant General, Prof. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, said every personnel found culpable would face the full weight of internal disciplinary measures and the law. “As a Corps built on integrity, professionalism, discipline, and absolute respect for the rule of law, we do not condone unprofessional conduct, high-handedness, or any action that undermines the fundamental rights of citizens or the sacred trust reposed in us,” Audi said. He also directed that the NSCDC flag be flown at half-mast across all formations for three days beginning Sunday, September 20, 2026, as a mark of mourning and institutional remorse over the incident.

The deaths occurred in the early hours of Thursday, September 17, 2026, after the detainees were arrested during enforcement operations conducted by the NSCDC Niger State Command in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State on September 15 and 16. The operations targeted suspected illegal mining activities. The NSCDC initially attributed the deaths to a suspected diphtheria outbreak, saying the actual cause would be established through medical examination. However, concerns over the circumstances surrounding the deaths intensified after survivors and relatives alleged overcrowding and poor detention conditions. Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago disclosed that sixty-seven artisanal and suspected illegal miners were detained in an NSCDC facility before thirty-seven of them died, saying the exact cause of death had yet to be established and that possible suffocation arising from overcrowding and exposure to hazardous substances were among the issues being considered.

The tragedy triggered protests in Minna, the Niger State capital, prompting the state government to impose a 24-hour curfew following clashes between protesters and security personnel. The Governor declared three days of mourning and questioned the number of miners arrested, saying his office and that of Homeland Security were not informed before the NSCDC operation. The state government also constituted its own committee of inquiry into the deaths.

The Federal Government responded with a ten-member independent committee chaired by Mr. Jonathan Kure, a retired Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services, with Professor Isa Hayatu Chiroma, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, as Secretary. The panel includes retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police Hosea Hassan Karma; Professor Olayinka Buhari, a professor of histopathology and former Chief Medical Director of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital; representatives of the Minna Emirate Council and the Niger State Government; Alhaji Liman Sulaiman, National Secretary of the Miners Association of Nigeria; Mr. Deji Adeyanju, lawyer and human rights activist; Mrs. Zainab Suleiman Okino of Blueprint Newspaper; and Dr. George Agbakahi, a public affairs analyst. The committee has two weeks to establish the identities of the deceased, investigate the circumstances of their arrest, detention and death, determine responsibility, and recommend appropriate action, including compensation where applicable and measures to prevent a recurrence.

The Interior Minister, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, described the deaths as deeply disturbing, saying the government owed the families of the deceased and the Nigerian public a transparent account of what transpired. He warned that any attempt to destroy or conceal evidence, intimidate witnesses or obstruct the investigation would be treated as a serious offence. Amnesty International Nigeria has called for an independent investigation into the deaths, particularly as some of those detained were minors. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, have both demanded urgent and transparent investigations, while the Federation of Nigerian Mining Host Communities has sought a full forensic determination of the cause of death and an independent review of the security response to the protests that followed.

For the families of the thirty-seven deceased, the arrests and the mounting institutional response represent the first formal steps toward accountability. For the NSCDC, the decision to parade the suspended officers publicly and fly its flag at half-mast signals an attempt to demonstrate that the Corps will not shield those found culpable. Whether that translates into prosecutions and systemic reform will be determined in the coming weeks as the Kure-led panel and other investigative bodies begin their work. What is certain is that the deaths of thirty-seven Nigerians in custody have placed the NSCDC’s detention practices under the most intense scrutiny in its history, and the demand for justice from the families, communities and civil society shows no sign of abating.

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