The cell of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) the place 33 suspected unlawful miners died in Minna, Niger State, was allegedly washed, disinfected and renumbered in an try to destroy proof, a member of the federal authorities’s investigation committee has mentioned.
Deji Adeyanju, a lawyer and human rights activist who served on the 10-member Independent Investigation Committee, disclosed this in a put up on his social media account on Wednesday, citing findings within the committee’s report.
“NSCDC Cell was washed clean, disinfected, renumbered in an attempt to destroy evidence after the death of 33 miners,” Mr Adeyanju wrote.
The allegation raises additional questions in regards to the dealing with of proof following the deaths of suspected unlawful miners in NSCDC custody in Minna in September.
Panel recommends prosecution
The newest disclosure follows Mr Adeyanju’s earlier put up saying that the committee had submitted its report to the federal authorities and beneficial prosecuting officers concerned within the deaths for homicide and different offences.
He additionally mentioned the committee beneficial a complete overhaul of the NSCDC’s management, compensation for the victims’ households and the formalisation of artisanal mining.
On Wednesday, the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, mentioned the committee had described the deaths as a preventable custodial tragedy attributable to extreme overcrowding, insufficient air flow, extended publicity to excessive warmth and dehydration.
In an announcement on his official Facebook web page, Mr Tunji-Ojo mentioned the committee discovered that these situations, not a illness outbreak, led to the deaths.
The minister added that the report had been transmitted to the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation for judicial motion. He additionally warned that officers who tried to conceal, disrupt, or destroy proof can be held accountable.
READ ALSO: Niger Miners’ Deaths: Panel describes incident as preventable custodial tragedy
Background
The federal authorities constituted the impartial committee on 19 September following President Bola Tinubu’s directive for a full and clear investigation into the deaths.
The incident adopted the arrest of suspected unlawful miners throughout operations in Minna on 15 and 16 September. Niger State NSCDC Commandant Suberu Aniviye and 20 different officers had been subsequently suspended in reference to the incident.
On 27 October, TheCable reported that the committee had recognized asphyxiation, or the deprivation of satisfactory oxygen, as the reason for death. Committee chairman Jonathan Kure mentioned investigators inspected the detention facility, performed autopsies and picked up witness statements and forensic proof.
The minister’s subsequent assertion attributed the deaths to situations contained in the cell and described the incident as preventable.
The allegation that the cell was cleaned, disinfected and renumbered has not been independently verified by PREMIUM TIMES. The committee’s full report and any official response from the NSCDC on the particular allegation weren’t instantly out there.
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