The Federal Government’s Independent Investigative Committee investigating the deaths of detainees in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Niger State has identified 33 victims, including children aged 11 and 12.
The names and personal details of the deceased were documented in a master register compiled by the committee, which is investigating the deaths at the NSCDC facility in Minna.
The panel is chaired by a former Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services, Jonathan Kure.
The register contains the identities and ages of the deceased, their arrest dates, detention location, identification details, post-mortem records and documented causes of death.
According to the register, the youngest victim was Uzaifa Aliyu, aged 11.
Two other children, Abdulsalam Samaila, also known as Ismail, and Mohammad Sani Nasir, were both 12 years old.
Section 6.1 of the committee’s report stated that the identities of the 33 detainees were established through arrest and detention records, as well as testimonies obtained during the investigation.
The report indicated that the deaths occurred between September 16 and 17, 2026, with all the victims recorded as having been detained at the NSCDC Niger State Command.
The committee 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.
While environmental asphyxia was listed as a provisional cause of death in three cases, the causes of death of the remaining detainees were generally recorded as undetermined because post-mortem examinations were not conducted.
The three detainees whose records identified environmental asphyxia as a provisional cause of death were Emmanuel Emeka, 25; Kabiru Suleiman, aged between 14 and 16; and Idris Haruna, 30.
Their records showed that post-mortem examinations were conducted on September 21, 2026.
All three were still listed as being in the morgue at the time the register was compiled.
The other 30 detainees were recorded as buried, with their individual causes of death remaining undetermined.
Full list of the 33 deceased detainees
The committee’s master register contained the following names, ages and arrest dates:
Emmanuel Emeka, 25 — Arrested on September 12, 2026.
His father, Emmanuel Onyenaucheya, was listed for identification.
A DNA sample was collected, and a post-mortem examination was conducted on September 21.
Provisional cause of death: environmental asphyxia. Status: in the morgue.
Kabiru Suleiman, 14–16 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
His cousin, Isiaku Usman, was listed for identification.
A DNA sample was collected, and a post-mortem examination was conducted on September 21.
Provisional cause of death: environmental asphyxia. Status: in the morgue.
Idris Haruna, 30 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
Initially registered as “John Doe”, he was later identified through arrest and detention records.
A DNA sample was collected, although no reference sample was available at the time of recording.
His post-mortem examination was conducted on September 21.
Provisional cause of death: environmental asphyxia. Status: in the morgue.
Mu’awiya Abdulkareem, 23 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
His father, Abdulkareem Mami, was listed for identification, and he was visually identified.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Sani Yakubu (Isiyaku), 25 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
His uncle, Usman Adamu, was listed for identification, and he was visually identified.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Safiyanu Abdullahi, 24 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
His brother, Umar Jubril, was listed for identification, and he was visually identified.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Safiyanu Abubakar, 16 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
His father, Samaila Umar, was listed for identification, and he was visually identified.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Ibrahim Sani (Salihu), 17 — Arrested on September 15, 2026.
His father, Sani Danbauchi, was listed for identification.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Abdulsalam Samaila (Ismail), 12 — Arrested on September 15, 2026.
His father, Samaila Suleiman, was listed for identification, and he was visually identified.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Fahad Sa’adu, 16 — Arrested on September 15, 2026.
His father, Sa’adu Mohammed, was listed for identification, and he was visually identified.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Ahmad Aliyu, 19 — Arrested on September 15, 2026.
His uncle, Umar Abdullahi, was listed for identification, and he was visually identified.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Safiyu Abdullahi Lado, 18 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
His Islamic teacher, Khamisu Mallam Hassan, was listed for identification.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Suleiman Lawal, 15 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
His father, Lawal Mohammed, was listed for identification.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Usman Abdullahi, 18 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. His father, Abdullahi Usman, was listed for identification.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Ibrahim Musa, 17 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
His father, Musa Aliyu, was listed for identification.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Abubakar Musa, 17 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
His father, Musa Aliyu, was listed for identification.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Abdullahi Mudassir, 19 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
His brother, Abubakar Buhari, was listed for identification.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Samuel Philip Sambo, 18 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
His father, Philip Sambo, was listed for identification.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Yusuf Nasir, 17 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
His father, Nasir Mohammed, was listed for identification.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Mohammad Sani Nasir, 12 — Arrested on September 15, 2026.
His father was recorded as Husseini Mohammed, although the report noted that an emirate list identified his mother as Aisha Nasiru.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Abdulbari Suleiman, 16 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
His brother, Abdulrahman Sani, was listed for identification.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Isiya Hamisu, 22 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. His brother, Abdullahi Aliyu, was listed for identification.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Usman Ibrahim, 20 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
His uncle, Sani Idris, was listed for identification.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Suleiman Dantala, 23 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
His father, Dantala Tanko, was listed for identification.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Sani Taminu, 20 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
His father was recorded as Tanimu Garba.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Uzaifa Aliyu, 11 — Arrested on September 15, 2026.
His mother, Rashida Aliyu, was listed for identification.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Abubakar Naibi, 57 — Arrested on September 15, 2026.
No identifying relative was listed.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Abdullahi Abubakar, 15 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
No identifying relative was listed. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Bisalla Adamu, 17 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
No identifying relative was listed. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Sani Isyaku, 18 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
No identifying relative was listed.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Musa Ibrahim, 18 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
No identifying relative was listed.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Idris Bashir, 25 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
No identifying relative was listed. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
Usman Haruna, 18 — Arrested on September 16, 2026.
No identifying relative was listed.
No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: undetermined. Status: buried.
