A medical team led by Professor Olayinka Buhari, a histopathologist and former Chief Medical Director of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, has started gathering evidence on circumstances leading to the death of 37 people held in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, in Niger State.
The committee’s Secretary, Professor Isa Hayatu Chiroma, SAN, disclosed that the independent committee set up by the Federal Government to investigate the incident will visit all relevant sites and interview survivors, suspects and others linked to the incident
The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo inaugurated the committee in Abuja on Tuesday, and members held their first meeting immediately after the inauguration and adopted a work plan for the investigation.
The committee said it would work with government agencies, visit all sites connected to the incident and obtain “all necessary materials to establish the facts surrounding the incident.”
It said its medical team had already begun work to determine the causes, mechanisms and manner of the deaths.
The panel asked the public to support the investigation. It said it would invite memoranda from interested individuals and organisations, and would announce later how to submit them, including the venue and date for physical presentations.
The 37 people died on Thursday, September 17, 2026, while held by the NSCDC Niger State Command. They had been detained on suspicion of illegal mining. Authorities have not yet said what caused the deaths. The Guardian
Reports indicate that preteens arrested at mining sites in the state were among those who died.
Also Read: NSCDC suspends commander, begins probe of Niger deaths
Tunji-Ojo set up the 10-member committee after President Bola Tinubu ordered what the minister called a “comprehensive, transparent and unhindered” investigation. The minister also suspended the NSCDC Niger State Commandant and 20 other officers while the investigation goes on. Those suspended include station guards, arresting officers, the head of intelligence and investigation, the officer in charge of legal matters, and several guard duty officers. Nigerian Pilot
The committee is mandated to identify the dead; investigate their arrest and detention; establish the cause and circumstances of the deaths; decide who was responsible and whether there was complicity, negligence or misconduct; recommend action, compensation where applicable, and ways to stop it happening again.
The committee can bring in experts, access facilities and documents, visit locations and request memoranda from the public. It has two weeks to submit its report. Nigerian Pilot
The minister told the NSCDC leadership to cooperate fully and to keep all records and evidence. “Any attempt to destroy or conceal evidence, intimidate witnesses or obstruct the investigation will be treated as a serious offence,” he warned.
“From the membership of this committee, there is absolutely no excuse for justice not to be done. Let your performance and your sustained integrity over the years justify what will be done”, the minister charged the committee.
The chairman is Mr Jonathan Kure, a retired Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services. Chiroma, the secretary, is a former Director-General of the Nigerian Law School. The other members are retired AIG Hosea Hassan Karma; representatives of the Minna Emirate Council and the Niger State Government; Alhaji Liman Sulaiman, National Secretary of the Miners Association of Nigeria; lawyer and rights activist Deji Adeyanju; Chairman, Blueprint Editorial Board, Mrs Zainab Suleiman Okino; public affairs analyst, Dr George Agbakahi and Prof. Buhari.
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