**Jonathan Kure, Chairman of the Investigating Committee
The deaths of tens of alleged illegal miners while in the custody of the NSCDC in Minna, Nigeria state is a tragedy that could have been avoided.
The suspended Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, stated this on Thursday while testifying before the Justice Mohammed Mohammed Commission of Inquiry investigating the deaths in Minna.
Aniviye also apologised to the family of the deceased and the survivors over the tragedy.
“A mistake has been made, but a very costly one. My apology to the parents of the deceased and to the people and government of Niger State,” he told the commission.
He told the commission that he assumed duty as Niger State NSCDC Commandant on August 25, 2025, and remained in office until September 18, 2026.
Expressing regret over the incident, the suspended commandant said the operation that led to the suspects’ detention followed complaints by residents of the M.I. Wushishi Housing Estate about disturbances allegedly caused by mining activities in the area.
Aniviye said he visited the site on September 15, 2026, and subsequently directed the command’s Head of Operations, Assistant Commandant of Corps Joha Achagwa, to act on the complaints.
He explained that the Mining Marshal Unit was deployed, leading to the arrest of suspected illegal miners during an operation on the evening of September 16.
The following day, however, several detainees were reported dead in the corps’ custody.
This is even as the Commission of Inquiry heard testimony that the command’s legal officer had advised the former commandant to release minors arrested during the operation to their parents on bail.
Aniviye told the commission that he received a telephone call informing him that some suspects had died in detention, prompting him to rush to the command headquarters, where he found several bodies lying on the floor of the cell.
He said he contacted Niger State Governor, Umaru Bago, who directed that the bodies be taken to a hospital.
Aniviye added that he also informed the Commissioner of Police and the Director of the Department of State Services about the incident.
The suspended commandant further disclosed that arrangements had been made to arraign the suspects in court on September 17 before the deaths occurred.
However, the suspended head of the NSCDC legal unit, Assistant Commandant of Corps Stephen Tsado, told the Commission that the treatment of the detainees and the handling of minors arrested during the operation was not too tidy.
Tsado, whose responsibilities included preparing case files, forwarding cases for prosecution and advising the commandant on legal matters, said he noticed that some of the arrested suspects were minors and advised Aniviye to release them to their parents on bail.
He told the commission that he personally urged the commandant to act on his advice to protect the rights of the minors but could not explain why the recommendation was not implemented.
“I advised him to grant them bail to their parents,” Tsado said.
The commission also heard testimony from Nurse Maryam Etang of the NSCDC medical unit, who said she visited the detention cell as part of her routine duties on September 16 and 17.
Etang disclosed that one of the suspects was coughing seriously on September 17, around the time the bodies were being removed from the cell.
She also said she was shocked to discover the body of one Emeka Emmanuel among those removed, insisting that he was not among the miners arrested during the operation.
Her testimony raised further questions about Emmanuel’s presence in the cell and the circumstances that led to his death.
The commission is expected to establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths, examine the treatment of the detainees and determine whether there were lapses in the conduct of the operation and the subsequent handling of those in custody.
In earlier proceedings, a mortician at the Minna General Hospital told the commission that 33 bodies were delivered to the hospital’s mortuary, a figure that differs from the 37 deaths reported by the Niger State Government and other authorities.
Governor Umaru Bago in September inaugurated a nine-member judicial commission of inquiry to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths of 37 miners in the custody of the NSCDC in the state.
The deaths of the miners triggered a protest in the state, prompting Governor Bago to declare a 24-hour curfew in Minna, the state capital.
Following the tragedy, President Bola Tinubu ordered a full and transparent investigation.
*With reporting from ChannelsTV
