By The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has moved swiftly against the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps’ Niger State leadership, ordering the immediate suspension of Commandant Suberu Aniviye following the deaths of suspected illegal miners held in the Corps’ custody.
Announced in a statement issued Friday by the minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Alao Babatunde, the suspension comes alongside an order for a full investigation into the deaths, which reportedly occurred in the early hours of Thursday at the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto axis of Minna, the Niger State capital.
The miners involved had been arrested during enforcement operations carried out across parts of the state on September 15 and 16.
The minister was direct about holding the command structure accountable while the investigation proceeds, saying that although the incident was unfortunate, the commandant under whose watch it happened would remain suspended pending a full inquiry, and stressing that his ministry’s overriding priority remains the security of lives.
He appealed to the public to stay calm and law-abiding so the investigation can run its course transparently, and extended condolences to Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago as well as to the families and relatives of those who died.
Reports circulating around the incident have put the number of miners who died in custody at no fewer than 33, though NSCDC itself has yet to confirm a specific figure.
The Investigation Already Underway
The suspension follows closely on the heels of NSCDC’s own decision to set up an investigative team once news of the deaths broke. In a statement issued Thursday, National Public Relations Officer Babawale Afolabi said the team, led by the Deputy Commandant-General in charge of Intelligence and Investigation, had been tasked with a comprehensive inquiry covering the condition of the suspects at the point of arrest, how long they were held, the conditions of their detention, what medical care, if any, they received, and any other relevant circumstances surrounding the deaths. NSCDC has also cautioned against jumping to conclusions about what caused the deaths, noting that any claims tying them to a specific disease remain unconfirmed pending medical and laboratory examination.
What Happens Next
With both the Ministry of Interior and NSCDC’s own leadership now conducting parallel scrutiny of the incident, and the commandant in charge at the time formally suspended, attention turns to whether the two investigations converge on a clear account of what happened in custody, and what accountability follows once the findings are in.
