NSCDC Officers Tampered With Evidence In 33 Miners’ Deaths — Tunji-Ojo

The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has said officers implicated in the deaths of 33 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State will face disciplinary and possible criminal action for tampering with evidence before forensic investigators arrived.

Tunji-Ojo spoke on Tuesday in Abuja after receiving the report of the Federal Government’s independent investigative committee, which probed the deaths in Minna.

He said the report would be forwarded to the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice for possible prosecution, while the Ministry of Interior would handle recommendations within its administrative jurisdiction.

The minister said officers found to have concealed, altered or destroyed evidence should be held accountable.

He added that those implicated should be suspended pending further investigation.

“You cannot disrupt and destroy evidence in a case where we lost 30-something people. That is wickedness,” he said.

The committee found that 33 detainees, including 14 minors, died from environmental asphyxia, or acute respiratory failure, after being held in a severely overcrowded and poorly ventilated cell.

Heat stress and dehydration were said to have worsened the conditions.

The panel recommended N30m compensation for each of the 33 bereaved families and N10m for each of the 41 survivors, bringing the proposed compensation to N1.4bn.

The panel also recommended the prosecution of culpable officers, disciplinary action against those responsible, educational assistance for dependants, medical and psychological support for survivors, and a comprehensive overhaul of the NSCDC.

The committee found that the detention area had been cleaned and altered before independent forensic investigators arrived. It also reported that the detention register for September 16 was missing.

Tunji-Ojo said the government would pursue the administrative and judicial recommendations through the relevant authorities. However, he did not announce a deadline for their implementation.

“The Attorney-General, and I can tell you, he’s actually anxiously waiting for this,” the minister said, adding that the Attorney-General had contacted him several times during the investigation to seek updates.

Asked whether the government had set a timeline for implementing the recommendations, Tunji-Ojo said the administrative aspects would be handled by the interior ministry, while the AGF’s office would oversee the judicial process.

“Nothing will be swept under the carpet,” he said.

The minister also acknowledged that failures had occurred and said reforms would be pursued to prevent a recurrence.

“One assurance I would like to give is that there will be a complete reform,” he said, adding that the ministry would work with relevant authorities to ensure the NSCDC, an agency established to protect Nigerians, did not harm people in its custody.

Tunji-Ojo recalled that when the committee was inaugurated five weeks earlier, he had warned that officers who concealed, disrupted or attempted to destroy evidence would be suspended.

He assured the bereaved families that the government would not abandon them.

“To Nigerians and to the families of the deceased, I want to assure you, this government will never leave you alone. You will never walk alone,” he said.

On claims that a substance was sprayed inside the detention facility, the committee’s chairman, Jonathan Kure, said the panel had interviewed the women and male survivors and could not substantiate the claims.

He said the committee interviewed 24 women and 17 male survivors as part of its investigation.

“Those claims couldn’t be proven,” Kure said.

He said the panel relied on interviews and medical evidence, including available autopsy and laboratory findings.

“There was nothing to indicate that something was spread. Nothing. It was purely what we have said here that we found,” he said.

The report attributed the deaths to environmental asphyxia caused by overcrowding, inadequate ventilation, heat stress and dehydration. It found no evidence that an infectious disease outbreak or an aerosol substance caused the deaths.

Meanwhile, activist and committee member Deji Adeyanju alleged that an important portion of the report had been removed from the summary read by the chairman.

He said the section was present when members concluded their work the previous day but was missing from the version presented at the briefing.

“I have a very slight observation that an important part of this report has been expunged from our report,” he said.

Adeyanju called for the portion to be restored, saying the executive summary referred to institutional overhaul but, in his view, left out other important elements.

He also questioned why a reference to the NSCDC leadership, including the Corps’ Commandant-General, had been removed.

Adeyanju said he had joined the committee on the understanding that he would receive no payment from the government and had personally paid for his accommodation, feeding and other expenses.

He added that he had promised Nigerians that he would raise concerns if he believed anything improper had occurred.

The committee’s secretary, Professor Isa Hayatu Chiroma, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, disputed Adeyanju’s claim.

Chiroma said the committee had worked late into the night to finalise the report and its appendices.