News
NSCDC Panel Finds 37 Miners Died of Suffocation
An investigative panel says 37 miners died of suffocation in NSCDC custody in Niger State and recommends compensation and disciplinary action
Also read: Tinubu Knows Food Prices, Presidential Aide Says Amid Hardship
The committee chairman and former Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services, Jonathan Kure, disclosed the findings on Tuesday while presenting the panel’s report to the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, in Abuja.
Kure said the committee recommended the payment of ₦1.4 billion to the families of 33 victims and 44 survivors.
According to the chairman, the deaths were avoidable, while the victims, including 14 minors, were held in what the panel described as inhuman conditions.
The committee recommended the summary dismissal of the Niger State NSCDC commandant and other officers found to have been directly involved in the detention of the miners and the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
It also called for institutional reforms within the corps to strengthen leadership and prevent a recurrence of similar incidents.
Receiving the report, Tunji-Ojo pledged that the Federal Government would implement the committee’s recommendations to ensure justice for those affected.
The minister also directed the NSCDC commandant to immediately suspend officers alleged to have cleaned up the detention centre in an attempt to destroy evidence, according to the report.
The findings relate to the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners on September 17, 2026, while they were being held by the NSCDC Niger State Command in Minna.
The victims were among dozens of people arrested during operations targeting suspected illegal mining activities in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of the state.
The incident prompted an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths and the conditions in which the detainees were held.
The committee’s findings now place responsibility for the next steps on the relevant authorities, including the implementation of its recommendations on compensation, disciplinary action and institutional reform.
Also read: Tinubu Knows Food Prices, Presidential Aide Says Amid Hardship
The proposed compensation and sanctions remain recommendations contained in the panel’s report. Their implementation will depend on the actions taken by the Federal Government and the relevant agencies.
Tinubu food prices are monitored through regular briefings, presidential aide Abiodun Essiet says, as Nigerians continue to face cost-of-living pressures
President Bola Tinubu is aware of the prices of everyday food items, including eggs and bread, and receives regular briefings on the economic challenges facing Nigerians, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement for the North-Central region, Dr Abiodun Essiet, has said.
Also read:FG Urges Investment in Youth, SMEs and Local Industries to Grow Economy
Essiet made the remarks while speaking to State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday, dismissing suggestions that journalists were the only people who understood the hardship experienced by ordinary Nigerians.
She also serves as the President’s representative for the North Central Citizens’ Assembly.
“I don’t feel it’s only media people who understand what the people are facing. Some of the reality of what our people are facing is what we are communicating to Mr President,” she said.
Essiet added that the President and members of the Federal Executive Council were regularly informed about the cost of basic commodities and the challenges confronting households.
“I usually tell people, you think Mr President doesn’t know the price of egg or bread in the market? He does, because we brief him regularly, and so do members of the Federal Executive Council,” she said.
The presidential aide also highlighted infrastructure development as a key component of the administration’s agenda, citing public reactions during a visit to a section of the Mokwa-Bida road in Niger State.
According to her, residents turned out in large numbers during the visit because of longstanding concerns about the condition of the road and calls for its rehabilitation.
“Yes, infrastructure is the bedrock of any development. When we went to the Mokwa-Bida road, come and see the crowd, because that is the road that people have been calling for Mr President to address,” she said.
Essiet claimed that the road had last been awarded for construction 46 years ago and highlighted the dangers motorists and other road users faced while navigating the route.
“Do you know how many people have died trying to manoeuvre that road? Trailers have had accidents trying to manoeuvre that road,” she added.
She said Tinubu had directed that the road be reconstructed using reinforced concrete rather than conventional asphalt, with the aim of improving its durability.
“Mr President said they should award the contract and make sure that the contract will be reinforced concrete, not just asphalt,” Essiet stated.
Her comments come amid continued public concern over food affordability and the cost of living.
On October 19, Vice President Kashim Shettima expressed optimism that food prices would decline in the coming weeks as the administration responds to challenges affecting agriculture.
Shettima made the statement at a forum titled “Together till 2027: An Evening with Original City Boy”, organised by the City Boy Movement alongside the Relax-Tinubu-Is-Fixing-Nigeria movement, groups supporting the President’s re-election bid.
Also read:FG Urges Investment in Youth, SMEs and Local Industries to Grow Economy
Essiet was appointed Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement for the North-Central region in 2024.
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