An independent investigative committee set up by the Federal Government has identified 33 people who died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Niger State, including two children aged 11 and 12.
The identities were documented in a register compiled by the committee investigating the deaths at the NSCDC facility in Minna, Niger State.
The committee, chaired by a former Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services, Jonathan Kure, recorded the names, ages, arrest dates, detention details and available post-mortem findings of the deceased.
According to the report, the youngest victim was identified as 11-year-old Uzaifa Aliyu, while Abdulsalam Samaila, also known as Ismail, and Mohammad Sani Nasir were both 12 years old.
The committee’s records showed that the deaths occurred between September 16 and 17, 2026, with all 33 detainees held at the NSCDC Niger State Command facility.
The panel attributed the deaths collectively to acute hypoxic respiratory failure, also known as environmental asphyxia, worsened by heat stress and dehydration in an overcrowded cell.
However, the report distinguished between its overall findings and the individual medical records of the deceased.
It stated that environmental asphyxia was provisionally listed as the cause of death in only three cases, while the causes of death of the remaining 30 detainees were recorded as undetermined because post-mortem examinations were not carried out.
The three detainees whose records indicated environmental asphyxia as a provisional cause of death were Emmanuel Emeka, 25; Kabiru Suleiman, aged between 14 and 16; and Idris Haruna, 30.
The report stated that post-mortem examinations were conducted on the three men on September 21, while their records indicated that they remained in the morgue.
The other 30 detainees were recorded as buried, with no individual cause of death established through post-mortem examinations.
The committee said the identities of the deceased were established through arrest and detention registers, alongside testimonies gathered during the investigation.
The findings raise serious concerns about detention conditions, particularly the deaths of minors in state custody and the absence of post-mortem examinations for most of the victims.
The report did not establish individual medical causes of death for the 30 detainees whose bodies were buried without post-mortem examinations.
The Federal Government’s investigative committee was constituted to examine the circumstances surrounding the deaths and document the identities of those affected.
