Authorities of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have paraded its suspended Niger State Commandant, Commandant Suberu Aniviye, and other officers linked to the de@ths of 37 alleged illegal miners in the Corps’ custody.
The 37 detainees lost their lives last Thursday, after they were arrested during anti-illegal mining operations conducted by the NSCDC in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State on September 15 and 16and detained in a cell in the NSCDC premises.
The officers are currently being paraded at the NSCDC National Headquarters in Sauka, Abuja, on Sunday, as the Corps’ National Public Relations Officer, Assistant Commandant Babawale Afolabi, briefs journalists on the preliminary findings into the incident.
The NSCDC had initially attributed the deaths to a suspected disease outbreak, saying the actual cause would be established through medical examination.
The Federal Government has since suspended the Niger State Commandant and 20 other NSCDC officers pending the outcome of an independent investigation.
Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo also constituted a 10-member independent committee to investigate the deaths, including the identities of the deceased, their arrest and detention, and the cause and circumstances of their deaths. The committee has two weeks to complete its assignment.