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Investigation panel accuses suspended Niger State NSCDC Commandant, Siyaka Suberu, of fabricating a disease outbreak explanation to conceal the deaths of 33 detainees in the corps’ custody.
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Medical examinations identify environmental asphyxia in an overcrowded, poorly ventilated cell as the most likely cause of death, with heat stress and dehydration as contributing factors.
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Probe uncovers a missing detention register, alleged tampering with the detention facility and failure to follow operational procedures during the mass arrests.
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Committee confirms 33 deaths, including 14 minors, and 41 survivors, including nine minors, and recommends disciplinary and legal action against culpable officers, as well as compensation for victims’ families.
October 30, (THEWILL) – The Niger State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Siyaka Suberu, deliberately attributed the deaths of 33 detainees in the agency’s custody to a fictitious disease outbreak in an attempt to conceal the circumstances surrounding the tragedy, an independent investigation committee has found.
According to Premium Times, the 10-member Independent Investigation Committee, chaired by Jonathan Kure, said Suberu personally authored and issued the statement, blaming the deaths on a disease outbreak, contrary to its findings that the detainees died following confinement in a severely overcrowded and poorly ventilated cell at the NSCDC state Command in Minna, Niger State.
The findings are contained in a report submitted to the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on October 27, 2026.
According to the report, the commandant’s statement was deliberately designed to mislead the public about the circumstances surrounding the deaths and conceal what the panel described as a custodial tragedy.
The committee said Suberu, who was suspended following the incident, had expressed shock over the development and claimed that he immediately contacted the NSCDC Commandant-General, Ahmed Audi, the Niger State governor and other security agencies.
However, the panel found that he subsequently issued a public statement attributing the deaths to a disease outbreak.
“He also personally issued a public press release attributing the 33 deaths to a ‘disease outbreak’ to conceal the custodial tragedy”, the report stated.
The committee added that Suberu attempted to shift responsibility to his subordinates, while expressing regret over the deaths.
Medical Findings Point To Asphyxia
Contrary to the disease outbreak explanation issued by the Niger State command, the committee’s medical investigations identified environmental hypoxia, a condition in which the body is deprived of sufficient oxygen, as the most likely cause of the deaths.
The panel said the available autopsy and histological findings were consistent with environmental asphyxia resulting from confinement in a severely overcrowded and poorly ventilated cell, with heat stress and dehydration identified as contributing factors.
It disclosed that post-mortem examinations were conducted on only three of the deceased, identified as Emmanuel Emeka, Kabiru Suleiman and Idris Haruna.
The remaining 30 detainees had been buried before the pathology team arrived, making it impossible to establish their individual causes of death through post-mortem examinations.
“Autopsy and histology reports are most consistent with death from environmental hypoxia (asphyxia) during confinement in a severely overcrowded, poorly ventilated cell”, the report stated.
Although the panel acknowledged that the precise medical causes of death of the 30 unexamined detainees could not be independently established, it said the circumstances and timing of the deaths suggested that they resulted from the same mechanism identified in the three examined cases.
It further stated that infection, physical trauma, custodial violence and natural diseases were unlikely to explain the cluster of deaths.
The committee, however, cautioned that its medical conclusions remained provisional pending the outcome of toxicology examinations.
Missing Records, Alleged Crime Scene Tampering
The investigation also uncovered serious breaches of operational procedures during the operation that led to the mass arrests and subsequent detention of the victims.
According to the report, the Niger State command conducted the operation without involving the specialised Mining Marshals Unit. It also failed to issue a formal operational order or undertake adequate operational planning.
The committee said the command equally disregarded established standard operating procedures and the NSCDC’s Open Detention protocols for handling large numbers of suspects.
It noted that the protocols had been successfully applied during a joint operation involving the command and the Mining Marshals Unit in June.
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Under the Open Detention arrangement, suspects are held in a guarded, well-ventilated courtyard rather than being confined in cells beyond their capacity.
The panel said the failure to activate the established protocols contributed to the circumstances that led to the deaths. It also discovered that the detention register for September 16 was missing, while officers allegedly tampered with the detention facility before independent forensic examinations could be conducted.
According to the report, the cells had been scrubbed, washed and disinfected, while their identification numbers were fraudulently changed before the forensic team arrived.
“The cells were fraudulently re-numbered” after they had been scrubbed, washed and disinfected, the committee stated.
On allegations of physical assault, the panel said the post-mortem examinations did not establish physical assault, blunt-force injuries or violence in custody as the immediate cause of death.
NSCDC Commandant-General Rejects Disease Outbreak Claim
The report also detailed the reaction of the NSCDC Commandant-General, Ahmed Audi, who condemned the deaths and rejected the Niger State Command’s explanation that a disease outbreak was responsible.
Audi described the incident as an inexcusable aberration and disclosed that the national headquarters had no prior knowledge of the mass arrests. He maintained that Suberu had exercised operational discretion without obtaining clearance from the headquarters and should bear the consequences of his actions.
According to the report, the commandant-general directed the National Public Relations Officer of the corps to issue a rebuttal of the disease outbreak statement.
“He officially debunked CC Suberu’s fabricated press release claiming a ‘disease outbreak,’ ordering the National PRO to rebut it, noting ‘we cannot defend illegality’”, the report stated.
Audi also emphasised that the Open Detention protocols should have been activated once the number of suspects exceeded the available cell capacity.
Panel Recommends Disciplinary Action, Compensation
The committee authenticated 33 deaths in the incident, including 14 minors, and identified 41 survivors, nine of whom were also minors.
It recommended disciplinary and legal action against officers found culpable in the operation and the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
The panel also called for compensation for the families of the deceased and survivors affected by the incident.
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