The Federal Government has suspended 20 officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps NSCDC and constituted a 10-member independent committee to investigate the reported deaths of 37 people held by the Niger State Command of the Corps on suspicion of illegal mining.
Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who announced the measures on Saturday in a statement, said the committee was set up following a directive by President Bola Tinubu for “a comprehensive, transparent and unhindered investigation” into the incident, which occurred on Thursday, 17 September 2026.
Describing the deaths as deeply disturbing, the Minister said the government owes the families of the deceased and the Nigerian public a transparent account of the events leading to the incident.
Tunji-Ojo directed the suspension of all officers involved in the incident pending the conclusion of the independent committee’s investigation, and warned the Corps’ leadership and officers against any interference with the process.
“Any attempt to destroy or conceal evidence, intimidate witnesses or obstruct the investigation will be treated as a serious offence,” he warned, while directing the NSCDC leadership and all relevant officers to cooperate fully with the committee and to preserve all records and material evidence connected to the incident for investigators.
According to the statement, the independent committee is expected to establish the identities of the deceased and investigate their arrests, detention, and the cause and circumstances of their deaths.
The minister further directed the committee to determine responsibility, complicity, negligence and misconduct, and to recommend appropriate action, compensation where applicable, and measures to prevent a recurrence.
The committee is chaired by Mr Jonathan Kure, a retired Deputy Director General of the Department of State Services DSS, with Prof. Isa Hayatu Ciroma, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN and former Director General of the Nigeria Law School, as Secretary.
Other members are AIG Hosea Hassan Karma (retired); Prof. Olayinka Buhari, a professor of histopathology and former Chief Medical Director of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital; a representative of the Minna Emirate Council; a representative of the Niger State Government; Alhaji Liman Sulaiman, National Secretary of the Miners Association of Nigeria; Mr Deji Adeyanju, lawyer and human rights activist; Mrs Zainab Suleiman Okino of Blueprint Newspaper; and Dr George Agbakahi, a public affairs analyst.
