Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has detained 24 personnel, including the suspended Niger State Commandant, Suberu Aniviye, over the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the corps’ custody.
Gatekeepers News reports that NSCDC said the number of personnel under investigation increased from 21 to 24 after three additional officers were identified and suspended in connection with the incident.
Babawale Afolabi, NSCDC spokesperson, said all 24 personnel linked to the incident had been taken into protective custody at the corps’ national headquarters in Abuja since September 17.
“In a swift and decisive joint operation conducted in conjunction with the commandant general’s special investigation squad (SIS), all officers and men of the Niger state command linked to the gross misconduct have since on the 17th September 2026 been taken into protective custody at the national headquarters, Abuja,” Afolabi said.
He said the personnel were undergoing interrogation and administrative disciplinary proceedings before being made available to the presidential independent investigation committee and other panels for further investigation and possible prosecution.
The NSCDC commandant-general, Ahmed Audi, also assured that due process, transparency and accountability would guide the investigation, adding that any personnel found culpable would face disciplinary measures and prosecution under the law.
The 37 suspected miners died days after they were arrested during anti-illegal mining operations conducted around 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.
However, accounts from survivors and relatives have raised questions about the conditions in which the suspects were detained. One survivor alleged that 65 people were held in a single cell before a substance was sprayed inside and the door locked. The claim is among the issues expected to be examined by investigators and has not been independently established.
The Federal Government has also constituted a 10-member independent committee to investigate the deaths, following President Bola Tinubu’s directive for a comprehensive and transparent investigation. The committee has two weeks to complete its assignment and submit its report.
As part of its response, NSCDC ordered its flag to be flown at half-mast across its formations for three days from September 20 to mourn the victims. Afolabi said the gesture was intended to “signal our collective mourning and our unwavering resolve to purge the system of bad eggs.”
