Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, SAN, has called on the Attorneys-General of Niger and Ondo states to ensure the investigation and prosecution of persons found responsible for two recent mass-casualty incidents the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State and the deaths of 48 persons following the consumption of toxic locally prepared alcoholic and herbal concoctions in Ondo State.
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Falana, in a statement, urged the Niger State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Nasiru Mu’azu, and his Ondo State counterpart, Dr Olukayode Ajulo, SAN, to use their offices to ensure that investigations into both incidents are followed by prosecution wherever criminal responsibility is established. The two officials are the current Commissioners for Justice in their respective states.
On the Niger incident, Falana recalled that the victims had been arrested over allegations of illegal mining before 37 of them died while being held by the NSCDC.
The deaths occurred on September 17, 2026, after the detainees had been arrested during an operation against suspected illegal mining. The precise cause of the deaths has not yet been officially established. Survivors and relatives have alleged severe overcrowding and poor ventilation, while the authorities initially referred to a possible disease outbreak. The Federal Government has since constituted an independent investigative panel.
Falana maintained that the circumstances demanded a speedy criminal investigation, calling on the Niger Attorney-General to ensure that the State Police Command investigates the matter thoroughly and that anyone against whom sufficient evidence is established is prosecuted by the appropriate authority.
The Federal Government has already suspended officers connected with the detention and constituted a 10-member independent committee to establish the identities of the deceased, examine their arrest and detention, determine the cause and circumstances of the deaths, and establish whether there was responsibility, complicity, negligence or misconduct.
Falana said the tragedy should also trigger a broader examination of detention conditions across Nigeria.
He recalled the 1980 incident in Lagos in which, according to him, dozens of criminal suspects allegedly suffocated after being confined in a police transport vehicle popularly known as a “Black Maria” at the premises of the Tinubu Magistrate Court.
According to the senior lawyer, overcrowded and poorly ventilated detention facilities have continued to expose suspects, particularly poor and vulnerable detainees, to degrading conditions.
He argued that public concern should extend beyond incidents where large numbers die at once, insisting that deaths and degrading treatment in detention facilities require sustained institutional attention.
Falana therefore called for detention centres across the country to comply with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, commonly known as the Nelson Mandela Rules, saying this would be an appropriate way of responding to the Niger tragedy and preventing similar occurrences.
Turning to Ondo State, Falana called on Attorney-General Ajulo to take steps toward the prosecution of persons found culpable in the toxic-drink outbreak that has claimed 48 lives.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) confirmed 182 cases and 48 deaths as of September 17, following the reported consumption of locally prepared alcoholic and herbal concoctions in affected communities. Five people were reported to have become totally blind and two others partially blind. (Premium Times)
The affected communities include New Town, Odole, Okele, Orita Odigbo, Araromi-Obu and Oniparaga, with the highest number of cases recorded in Odigbo Town and Araromi-Obu. Cases were also reported in Irele Local Government Area. (Premium Times)
NAFDAC’s preliminary laboratory investigation found high concentrations of methanol in samples of the suspected drinks, while 11 of 15 samples examined also tested positive for Cannabis indica. Methanol is highly toxic and can cause blindness, organ failure and death.
The regulatory agency also disclosed that 15 persons had been arrested in connection with the suspected production, sale and distribution of the implicated beverages, while investigations and public-health interventions remain ongoing.
Falana urged the Ondo Attorney-General to take over or closely supervise the criminal aspect of the matter with a view to ensuring that suspects against whom sufficient evidence is established are prosecuted.
His intervention effectively links the two incidents around the question of accountability: in Niger, determining responsibility for deaths occurring while citizens were in state custody; and in Ondo, identifying and prosecuting those responsible for the production or distribution of substances linked by regulators to dozens of deaths.
While describing the incidents in strong terms, Falana’s call for prosecution comes as investigations remain ongoing. No person has yet been judicially determined to be criminally responsible for either the Niger custody deaths or the Ondo poisoning deaths.
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