BREAKING: FG Suspends 21 NSCDC Officers, Releases Full List

• The Federal Government has suspended the Niger State Commandant of the NSCDC and 20 other officers following the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the Corps’ custody, pending the outcome of an independent investigation.

The Federal Government has suspended 21 officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, including the Niger State Commandant, over the reported deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the Corps’ custody.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, announced the suspension on Saturday, September 19, 2026, saying the affected officers would remain suspended pending the conclusion of an independent investigation into the incident.

The measure followed President Bola Tinubu’s directive for a comprehensive, transparent and unhindered investigation into the deaths, which occurred on Thursday, September 17, while the suspects were being held by the NSCDC in Niger State.

The Federal Government has also constituted a 10-member independent committee to investigate the incident.

According to the Ministry of Interior, the committee will establish the identities of the deceased and examine the circumstances surrounding their arrest, detention and deaths.

It will also determine whether there was any responsibility, complicity, negligence or misconduct and recommend appropriate action, compensation where applicable and measures to prevent a recurrence.

The Niger State NSCDC Commandant, Suberu Aniviye, had earlier been suspended.

The 20 other officers suspended are:

1. O/C Station Guard, SC Usman Isah Ndamaka
2. Station Guard, ASCI Hassan Mohammed
3. Station Guard, CCA Bala Mohammed
4. Arresting Officer/O/C Investigation, CSC Oluwadare Sunday
5. Arresting Officer, DCC Obafemi Elvis
6. Arresting Officer, CSC Annas Shitto Lamino
7. HOD INT/INV, DCC Philip Ajayi
8. O/C Legal, ACC Barr. Stephen Tsado
9. Night Duty Officer, ASCI Alhassan Mohammed
10. Guard Duty, IC Abdullahi Sale
11. Guard Duty, IC Mohammed Sonfada
12. Guard Duty, CAI Liman Abubakar
13. Guard Duty, CAI Bala Usman
14. Guard Duty, IC Mohammed Jiya
15. Guard Duty, DSC Isah Suleiman
16. Guard Duty, CAI Ahmed Wushishi
17. Guard Duty, IC Sale Adamu
18. Guard Duty, IC Haruna Mohammed
19. Guard Duty, ASCI Aliyu Sallah
20. Guard Duty, CAI Isah Sanusi

The 37 deceased were among scores of suspected illegal miners arrested during NSCDC enforcement operations in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State on September 15 and 16.

The Corps said the operations were part of efforts to tackle illegal mining, with various exhibits reportedly recovered during the arrests.

The following day, 37 of the detainees were reported dead while in NSCDC custody in Minna.

The NSCDC initially attributed the deaths to a suspected disease outbreak and said the bodies had been taken to the General Hospital, Minna, for medical examination to determine the actual cause of death.

However, no definitive cause of the deaths has been established.

Accounts from survivors have also raised questions about the conditions in which the detainees were held. One survivor, Dauda Shehu, told journalists that detainees were kept in a poorly ventilated cell and struggled to breathe.

Another survivor alleged that a substance resembling perfume was sprayed inside an overcrowded cell shortly before some detainees began collapsing.

Those accounts remain part of the issues to be examined by investigators and have not been established as the official cause of the deaths.

The deaths triggered protests in Minna, after which the Niger State Government imposed a curfew following unrest. Governor Umar Bago also confirmed the death toll and ordered a state-level inquiry.

President Tinubu subsequently directed a comprehensive investigation, saying that the circumstances of the arrests, detention conditions, medical attention provided and events leading to the deaths must all be examined.

The President also said that if the investigation establishes that any official contributed to the deaths through action, abuse or negligence, the officer should be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law.

He further stressed that the suspension of officers is an administrative measure and should not replace a proper determination of criminal responsibility where evidence warrants prosecution.

The independent committee is expected to submit its findings after completing its investigation, which the Federal Government has said will determine the next steps.