Prosecution of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) officers linked to the September 27 deaths of 33 detained ‘miners’ in the agency’s custody was among the recommendations of the Independent Presidential Investigative Committee.
The panel, chaired by former Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) Jonathan Kure, submitted its report yesterday to the Federal Government through Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
It also recommended the overhaul of the NSCDC leadership structure and the payment of N1.4 billion in compensation to bereaved families and survivors.
The panel blamed the deaths of the miners on suffocation caused by overcrowding of the cells where they were detained.
Presenting the Executive Summary of the committee’s report to the minister in Abuja yesterday, Kure, blamed the causes of death on ‘overcrowding, unsuitable detention condition, failure of care on duty, and inadequate supervision’, amongst others.
Recommending an overhaul of the NSCDC leadership under the watch of its Commandant-General, Ahmed Audi, the Kure-panel noted that the leadership could not be exonerated from the lapses.
The committee recommended a comprehensive restructuring of the NSCDC’s leadership and reforms in recruitment, deployment, training, supervision, intelligence gathering and accountability.
According to the Kure, the recommendations are intended to ensure that those responsible are held accountable and prevent a recurrence of the tragedy.
Kure called for investigations by anti-corruption agencies into allegations of extortion and mismanagement of exhibits.
He said there were institutional lapses and gaps on the parts of the NSCDC personnel, who carried out the operations that led to the fatalities.
The committee reports partly reads: ‘The committee concluded that the incident was a preventable custodial tragedy caused by severe overcrowding, unlawful and unsuitable detention conditions, failure of duty of care, disregard of repeated distress warnings, inadequate supervision, and wider systemic deficiencies.
‘The evidence did not support claims that the death resulted from a disease outbreak. Available medical and forensic evidence instead indicated that the fatalities resulted from an environmental aphasia, an acute respiratory failure caused by prolonged confinement in a severely overcrowded and poorly ventilated detention cell, aggravated by heat stress and dehydration.
‘Evidence from multiple independent sources were analysed and cross-checked to reconstruct events and determine responsibility. The committee established that the tragedy stemmed from enforcement operations against suspected illegal mining activities in and around Minna.’
According to the committee, there was no evidence that the operation which led to the arrest of the suspects got an ‘operational order’ or approval from the national headquarters of the NSCDC.
‘The investigation identified serious failures by senior officers, including the state commandant over the operation, detention conditions, supervision and response to repeated distress calls,’ the panel said in the report.
Dr. Tunji-Ojo traced the committee’s establishment to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s insistence on a thorough investigation because of the importance of the lives of all Nigerians irrespective of status and other considerations.
He said the composition of the committee demonstrated that government had no intention to hide anything or sweep the matter under the carpet.
The minister, who assured that nothing will be swept under the carpet after the report, said that the era of setting up committee to just reduce tension was over.
Tunji-Ojo ordered the suspension of all officers and men involved in the clearing of the crime scene before the arrival of the investigative panel.
He said: ‘Those officers that intended to destroy and disrupt evidence must be suspended while internally we will investigate and carry out other disciplinary actions.’
The minister promised to forward the report to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice for further action.
He assured of well-implemented reforms, emphasising that the report showed a detailed job.
‘For us, leadership is not tested when things are right, but response when things are not going right,’ he said.
He promised families of the deceased that the federal government would ensure justice was served.
‘These are vulnerable people that must be protected and the best gift to give to the deceased is justice which must be done,’ he said.
The victims were among dozens of people arrested during operations against suspected illegal mining in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State on September 15 and 16.
Their deaths in custody of the NSCDC elicited public outrage and raised serious questions about detention conditions, the treatment of suspects in security agencies’ custody and the circumstances surrounding the mass deaths.
The Federal Government raised a 10-member independent probe panel on President Tinubu’s directive to establish the cause of the deaths and determine whether negligence, misconduct or other wrongdoing contributed to the incident.
The committee was also mandated to investigate the circumstances surrounding the victims’ arrest and detention and recommend appropriate disciplinary measures, compensation where applicable, and safeguards against a recurrence.
The Niger Command of the NSCDC initially blamed their death on suspected disease outbreak, assuring that medical examinations would determine the actual cause.
In its initial account, the command said the suspects had been arrested during operations against illegal mining and that the bodies were deposited at the General Hospital in Minna for examination.