37 Miners Suffocated in NSCDC Custody, Says Panel, Recommends N1.4bn Compensation.
The panel also recommended the summary dismissal of the Niger State NSCDC Commandant and other officers found to have been directly involved in the incident, describing the deaths as avoidable and calling for measures to prevent a recurrence.
The chairman of the 10-member independent investigative committee, Jonathan Kure, a retired Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services, disclosed the findings on Tuesday while presenting the panel’s report to the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, in Abuja.
The recommendations followed investigations into the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners who died on September 17, 2026, while being detained by the NSCDC in Minna, the Niger State capital.
The victims were among dozens of people arrested during anti-illegal mining operations in the M.I. According to reports on the panel’s findings, the committee recommended N1.4 billion in compensation for the families of 33 deceased victims and 44 survivors affected by the incident. The panel also called for the dismissal of the state commandant and officers whose involvement in the arrests, detention and circumstances surrounding the deaths was established. Fourteen of the deceased were reportedly minors, raising further concerns about the treatment of young people detained during the operation.
MSEApp News is publishing an original rewrite of this tip for readers, based on reporting associated with THISDAY.