Friday September 18, 2026
www.thenewsdesk.ng

The Federal Government has suspended the Niger State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Suberu Aniviye, over the deaths of suspected illegal miners in the state.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, ordered the immediate suspension on Friday, September 18, and directed a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

The incident reportedly occurred in the early hours of Thursday around the M.I. Wushishi/Lukoto axis of Minna, the Niger State capital.

The minister’s directive was disclosed in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Alao Babatunde.

The suspected illegal miners were reportedly arrested during enforcement operations carried out in parts of the state on September 15 and 16, 2026.

“It is an unfortunate incident, however, a full investigation will be conducted while the commandant under whose watch this happened remains suspended.

“We run a government whose ultimate priority is security of lives and we have worked to stay true to this,” the minister declared.

Tunji-Ojo appealed to residents to remain calm and law-abiding as the authorities conduct the investigation, which he said would be transparent.

He also expressed condolences to the Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, as well as the families and relatives of those who died.

Reports indicated that over 33 suspected illegal miners had died while in custody, although the NSCDC has not confirmed a specific death toll.

The development had earlier led the NSCDC to set up an investigative panel to establish what happened to the suspects while in custody.

The corps’ National Public Relations Officer, Babawale Afolabi, said in a statement on Thursday that the investigative team was headed by the Deputy Commandant-General in charge of Intelligence and Investigation.

According to the NSCDC, the team was expected to examine the condition of the suspects when they were arrested, their treatment during detention, the conditions under which they were held, the medical attention they received and other factors connected to the deaths.

The corps also urged the public to avoid drawing conclusions about the cause of the deaths, stressing that claims linking the incident to a particular disease had yet to be established through medical and laboratory tests.

(Platinum POST)