Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Olatunji Disu has assured the Niger State Government that the Nigeria Police Force will conduct a thorough investigation into the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners who died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna.
Gatekeepers News reports that Disu gave the assurance on Saturday when he paid a condolence visit to Niger State Governor Umaru Bago at the Government House in Minna following the incident. He said the police would work with the NSCDC and the state government to establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
The IGP described deaths in custody as a serious matter that falls within the jurisdiction of the police. He added that police officers had secured the scene to preserve evidence and prevent any interference with the investigation.
Disu also appealed to residents to remain calm and avoid taking the law into their own hands, assuring them that due process would be followed in determining what led to the deaths.
The 37 victims were among scores of people arrested during NSCDC operations targeting suspected illegal mining activities around the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Minna on September 15 and 16. Their deaths were discovered in the early hours of September 17.
The NSCDC had initially attributed the deaths to a suspected disease outbreak, while stressing that the actual cause had not been conclusively established and that medical examinations would be conducted.
The incident has since triggered several investigations. President Bola Tinubu ordered a comprehensive, transparent and unhindered probe, while the Interior Ministry constituted a 10-member independent committee to investigate the deaths. The government also suspended officers connected with the incident pending the outcome of the investigation.
The committee has been given two weeks to establish the identities of the deceased, examine the circumstances of their arrests and detention, determine the cause of death and establish whether responsibility, negligence or misconduct was involved.
Governor Bago had also said forensic examinations, medical examinations and autopsies were being conducted to establish the scientific cause of the deaths.
