By Lawrence Williams 

Nigeria’s Interior Minister Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has inaugurated an independent investigative panel following last week’s deaths of 37 miners held in custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

The deceased were among dozens apprehended and detained during enforcement operations against illegal mining activities in Niger State.

The incident sparked widespread public outrage and protests in Minna, with Nigerian citizens demanding a thorough probe into the fatalities.

Characterizing the event as a grave matter, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu asserted that arresting individuals for illegal activity does not strip them of their fundamental right to life and basic human dignity.

“No citizen should lose their life while in government custody as a result of negligence, abuse, inhumane treatment or dereliction of duty,” said Tinubu.

Labelling the tragedy deeply troubling, Minister Tunji-Ojo stated that the government owes the public and the bereaved families a transparent account of what really happened.

Twenty officers, including Niger State NSCDC Commandant Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, have been suspended from duty. The government says they should fully cooperate with the investigation, and any attempt to undermine it “will be treated as a serious offence.”

According to the interior minister, the panel will examine the arrests, detention, and circumstances surrounding their deaths, as well as establish culpability for official misconduct, and recommend reparations alongside preventive reforms.

Testimonies from survivors have directly contested earlier claims suggesting the deaths stemmed from an unidentified disease outbreak.

Reports from Reuters indicate that roughly 70 individuals were crammed into a five-square-meter cell where officers allegedly sprayed an unknown substance, causing acute respiratory distress.

Separate accounts published by The Guardian detailed severe overcrowding and poor ventilation, though these claims remain subject to verification by the panel.

President Tinubu maintained that while the state must enforce statutory laws rigorously, law enforcement agencies must themselves remain strictly bound by the rule of law.