The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has detained three additional personnel over the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in its custody in Niger State, bringing the number of officers held in connection with the incident to 24.
NSCDC spokesman, Assistant Commandant of Corps Babawale Afolabi, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday.
The latest development followed the earlier detention of 21 personnel after the miners were found dead in a detention facility in Niger State.
According to Afolabi, the three newly identified officers have been suspended and moved alongside the other affected personnel to the NSCDC national headquarters in Abuja, where they are being interrogated and subjected to administrative disciplinary procedures.
He said the personnel would be made available to the independent presidential investigation committee and other panels probing the incident.
Afolabi said, “Three more personnel identified have also been placed on suspension, bringing the total to 24 personnel.”
He added that the officers were being kept in custody to facilitate further investigations and possible prosecution of anyone found culpable.
The NSCDC Commandant-General, Ahmed Audi, said the Corps was committed to ensuring that the investigation was conducted transparently and in line with due process.
Audi stated, “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.”
He added that any officer found responsible for wrongdoing would face appropriate disciplinary action and prosecution under the law.
The development came a day after the Federal Government announced the constitution of a 10-member independent committee to investigate the deaths.
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, had said the committee was constituted on the directive of President Bola Tinubu to conduct a comprehensive and transparent investigation into the incident.
The deaths occurred on September 17, after the suspects were arrested during operations against suspected illegal mining activities in the Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State.
The Federal Government has also suspended officers allegedly connected to the incident pending the outcome of the investigation.
Meanwhile, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has called for the prosecution of anyone found responsible for the deaths.
Falana urged the Attorney-General of Niger State, Nasiru Mu’azu, to direct the relevant authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident and prosecute all persons indicted.
He also called for improved conditions in detention facilities, citing the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, popularly known as the Nelson Mandela Rules.
Falana said, “The best way to honour the 37 suspects that were suffocated to death last week is to ensure that detention centres in the country meet the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.”
Civil society groups have equally demanded an independent and transparent investigation, with calls for those found culpable to face the law.
The League of Northern Democrats said allegations of illegal mining could not justify the loss of lives in government custody, stressing that detainees remained entitled to humane treatment and due process.
The group said, “Arrest and detention are not a death sentence. Every person in state custody is entitled to life, dignity, humane treatment and due process.”
The North-Central Indigenous Youth Council also condemned the deaths, describing the incident as unacceptable and demanding an independent forensic autopsy.
The group alleged that overcrowding, negligence and poor custodial conditions may have contributed to the deaths and called for the prosecution of any officers found culpable.
Meanwhile, the National President of the National Artisanal and Small Scale Mining Cooperative Society, Abdullahi Dantasidi, expressed concern over the deaths and urged the government to strengthen measures protecting miners.
Dantasidi said the incident was a major loss to the affected families and the mining sector.
He stated, “We in the artisanal mining community are deeply concerned about the way our members are often treated, and we want that to change.”
The NSCDC has directed that its flag be flown at half-mast across its formations for three days in honour of the deceased.
