The Federal Government has vowed to ensure justice for the 33 persons who died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, in Minna, Niger State, assuring that no one found culpable will be spared.
Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, gave the assurance on Tuesday in Abuja while receiving the report of the Independent Investigative Committee headed by retired Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services, Jonathan Kure.
Tunji-Ojo said the Ministry will transmit the full report to the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation for judicial action, as the Ministry lacks prosecutorial powers.
He disclosed that the AGF has been anxious about the report and has made several enquiries due to President Bola Tinubu's deep concern over the incident.
"We keep our promises, we keep our words. You can be rest assured we will do the right thing," the Minister said, adding that administrative recommendations within the Ministry's purview will be implemented within a very short time.
"This administration wants to show the world that Nigeria cares for everybody, especially the least and most vulnerable."
Presenting the executive summary, Kure said the committee concluded that the deaths were an entirely preventable custodial tragedy.
He dismissed claims of disease outbreak, stating that medical and forensic evidence showed the victims died from environmental asphyxia — acute respiratory failure caused by prolonged confinement in a severely overcrowded, poorly ventilated cell, worsened by extreme heat and dehydration.
Other causes listed were unsuitable detention condition, failure of duty of care, disregard for repeated distress warnings, inadequate supervision and systemic deficiencies.
Kure said the committee interviewed NSCDC leadership, operational personnel, cell guards, medical staff, 29 of the 41 survivors including nine minors, bereaved families, community leaders and graveyard managers, and examined arrest registers, duty rosters, hospital and mortuary records, autopsy findings and burial records.
He noted that the operation that led to the arrests — a crackdown on suspected illegal mining around Minna — was carried out without an operational order or approval from the NSCDC National Headquarters.
The panel also lamented that 30 of the deceased were buried before autopsy, the detention register for September 16, 2026 was unavailable, and the cell was cleaned, disinfected and altered before independent forensic experts arrived.
The committee recommended a total compensation package of N1.4 billion, broken down into N30 million each for families of the 33 deceased and N10 million each for the 41 survivors.
It also recommended educational support for dependents of the dead, medical rehabilitation for survivors, psychological support for affected families, and a formal apology by the Federal Government.
The panel called for summary dismissal of personnel whose direct actions caused the deaths and administrative sanctions for others whose negligence contributed to the tragedy.
The Chairman detailed the roles of suspended Niger State Commandant, Suberu Aniviye, and four other officers.
According to Kure, Aniviye authorised and supervised the operation without proper planning or approval, permitted overcrowding, failed to ensure lawful detention, and later issued a false public statement blaming the deaths on disease outbreak.
The acts, he said, are gross leadership failure, abuse of authority and serious professional misconduct.
The Chairman also accused CSC Oluwadare Sunday, Head of Investigation Unit, of facilitating unlawful detention, disregarding legal and medical concerns, and failing to intervene despite deteriorating cell conditions.
SC Usman Isah Ndamaka, he said, was indicted for maintaining overcrowded conditions, ordering subordinates not to open the cell, ignoring emergency alerts, and participating in cleaning and altering the detention area before investigators arrived.
On Station Guard, ASCI Hassan Mohammed, he alleged that the officer failed to open the cell despite repeated distress signals and did not escalate the emergency.
He said DSC Sule Garba was accused of profiling detainees including minors without protecting their rights and poor exhibit documentation.
DSC Musa Marafa, he said, was responsible for unlawfully arresting one Emmanuel Emeka over a civil debt dispute, leading to his continued detention and eventual death with others.
Beyond individual culpability, the committee flagged institutional failures — inadequate detention facilities, absence of CCTV, weak custodial oversight, poor record-keeping, lack of emergency medical capacity, ineffective supervision and chronic underfunding — which it said created an environment for violations to occur undetected.