The Federal Government has constituted a 10-member independent committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Niger State, with the panel mandated to determine the identities of the deceased, how they were arrested and detained, the cause of their deaths and whether any official was responsible through complicity, negligence or misconduct.
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Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, announced the constitution of the committee on Saturday, September 19, 2026, following President Bola Tinubu’s directive for a comprehensive and transparent investigation into the incident.
The 37 detainees died on Thursday, September 17, while being held by the Niger State Command of the NSCDC following operations against suspected illegal mining.
Their precise cause of death has not yet been established. Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago had earlier disclosed that about 67 artisanal and suspected illegal miners were detained, while investigators are examining possibilities including suffocation from overcrowding and exposure to hazardous substances associated with mining activities.
The Federal Government’s new committee is expected to go beyond determining the medical cause of death.
According to the terms of reference announced by Tunji-Ojo, the panel is to establish the identities of all those who died and investigate the circumstances surrounding their arrest, detention and deaths.
It is also required to determine whether there was responsibility, complicity, negligence or misconduct by any person or institution and recommend appropriate action where wrongdoing is established.
The panel is additionally empowered to recommend compensation where applicable and propose measures aimed at preventing a recurrence.
Tunji-Ojo issued a strong warning against interference with the investigation.
“Any attempt to destroy or conceal evidence, intimidate witnesses or obstruct the investigation will be treated as a serious offence,” the minister said.
The committee is chaired by Jonathan Kure, a retired Deputy Director-General of the State Security Service, while Prof. Isa Hayatu Chiroma, SAN, former Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, will serve as secretary.
Other members are retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police Hosea Hassan Karma and Prof. Olayinka Buhari, a professor of Histopathology and former Chief Medical Director of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital.
The Minna Emirate Council and the Niger State Government are also represented on the committee.
Other members are Alhaji Liman Sulaiman, National Secretary of the Miners Association of Nigeria; lawyer and human rights activist Deji Adeyanju; Zainab Suleiman Okino of Blueprint Newspaper; and public affairs analyst Dr George Agbakahi.
The composition brings together backgrounds in security, law, medicine, mining, traditional institutions, human rights, journalism and public affairs as the government seeks to establish what occurred before and during the detainees’ time in NSCDC custody.
The panel has also been given powers to co-opt relevant experts, obtain access to facilities and documents, visit locations connected with the incident and invite memoranda from members of the public who may possess relevant information.
It has been given two weeks to complete its investigation and submit its report to the Minister of Interior.
Adeyanju subsequently confirmed that he had accepted his appointment to the committee but said he would not accept any payment, stipend or honorarium for serving on it.
“I am joining the committee solely to protect the interests of the victims and ensure that the truth is established,” he said, describing the assignment as a national duty.
The constitution of the independent panel comes alongside disciplinary and investigative steps already taken against personnel of the NSCDC.
Tunji-Ojo has suspended the Niger State Commandant of the Corps, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, together with 20 other NSCDC officers, pending the conclusion of the independent investigation. The affected personnel include station guards, arresting and investigating officers, intelligence personnel, legal staff and officers who were on guard and night duties around the period of the incident.
The suspensions are administrative measures pending investigation and do not, by themselves, amount to findings that the affected officers caused the deaths.
The Nigeria Police Force has separately moved to preserve evidence at the scene. Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu said the location had been secured to ensure that nothing was removed or introduced before investigators completed their work.
The deaths have attracted national attention following accounts by survivors alleging severe overcrowding, poor ventilation and desperate attempts by detainees to obtain air and water. Those allegations remain subject to investigation and medical and forensic verification.
Bago has said the government is considering several possible explanations, including suffocation and exposure to toxic or radiological substances from mining activity, but stressed that autopsies and scientific examinations would be required before the cause could be established.
The Federal Government’s committee will therefore be expected to reconcile the medical and forensic evidence with survivor accounts, detention records and the conduct of officers involved in the arrest and custody of the miners.
Tunji-Ojo expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and appealed for calm while the investigations continue.
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