Panel Recommends N1.4bn Compensation, Dismissal Of NSCDC Officers Over D£aths Of 33 Miners In Niger State
Panel Recommends N1.4bn Compensation, Dismissal Of NSCDC Officers Over Deaths Of 33 Miners In Niger State
The finding marks a major development in the investigation into the deaths of the 37 suspected illegal miners, who died on September 17, 2026, while being detained by the NSCDC Niger State Command in Minna.
The Ministerial Investigative Committee set up to probe the fatal custody deaths involving suspected illegal miners at the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) facility in Minna, Niger State, has submitted its final findings, declaring the deaths “entirely preventable”.
Presenting the executive summary of the report to the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, in Abuja on Tuesday, the chairman of the committee, Jonathan Kure, recommended a total restitutive compensation package of N1.4 billion to be paid to the families of the victims and surviving detainees.
According to the report, the fatalities resulted from “environmental asphyxia caused by prolonged confinement in a severely overcrowded cell aggravated by heat stress and dehydration”.
The committee cited “overcrowding, unsuitable detention conditions, failure of duty of care, and inadequate supervision” as the root causes.
Crucially, the panel established that the operation which led to the mass arrest was unauthorised. The arrests were conducted “without an operational order or approval from the national headquarters of the NSCDC”.
The committee recommended a restitutive package of N30 million for each of the 33 bereaved families and N10 million for each of the 41 survivors, totalling N1.4 billion.
Beyond cash payments, the panel urged the federal government to provide educational support for dependents of the deceased, medical rehabilitation for survivors, psychological support for affected families, and a formal apology from the federal government.
Addressing disciplinary action against compromised personnel, the committee recommended the summary dismissal and prosecution of officers whose direct actions led to the deaths, alongside administrative sanctions for other personnel who failed in their supervisory obligations.
The submission of the ministerial report follows weeks of public outrage and scrutiny triggered by reports on the tragic incident in September 2026.
SaharaReporters had reported that over 60 suspected illegal miners, many of them young men and teenagers, were rounded up during a crackdown in Niger State and crammed into a single, poorly ventilated detention cell at the NSCDC command in Minna.
Eyewitnesses and distraught family members who spoke to SaharaReporters at the time accused NSCDC personnel of severe high-handedness, torture, and extortion.
Relatives had alleged that officers demanded up to N500,000 in bribe money to release detainees before the fatalities occurred.
Witnesses further revealed to SaharaReporters that officers attempted to cover up the crime by dumping the lifeless bodies outside the detention premises like waste before grieving relatives and community members raised the alarm, attracting other security agencies to the facility.
President Bola Tinubu directed a transparent probe into the deaths, prompting Interior Minister Tunji-Ojo to suspend top officers of the Niger State NSCDC Command and inaugurate the independent investigative committee.
