The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has called for an independent and transparent investigation into the deaths of 33 suspected illegal miners who reportedly died after being arrested and detained by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State.
The Executive Director of RULAAC, Mr Okechukwu Nwanguma, made the demand in a statement issued on Friday, September 18, 2026, following confirmation by the NSCDC that some of the suspects died while in custody.
Nwanguma said the reported deaths required a credible explanation based on independent forensic evidence rather than speculation about the possible causes of death.
“While reports differ on the precise number of fatalities, the NSCDC has confirmed that deaths occurred among persons taken into its custody,” he said.
He noted that media reports had also quoted a survivor as alleging that dozens of detainees were confined in an overcrowded and poorly ventilated cell, where some struggled to breathe and called for help.
According to him, the allegations were “extremely grave” and should be subjected to an immediate, independent and transparent investigation.
Nwanguma stressed that whether the arrested persons were involved in illegal mining was separate from the government’s responsibility to protect their lives and dignity while in custody.
“Persons arrested on suspicion of committing an offence remain presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law. Arrest does not extinguish the rights to life, dignity, humane treatment, medical care and due process,” he said.
He explained that once individuals were deprived of their liberty, the detaining authority assumed a heightened duty of care because detainees depended substantially on the State for their safety, medical needs and basic conditions of survival.
Nwanguma therefore said it would be insufficient for authorities to simply attribute the deaths to illness or disease without supporting medical and forensic evidence.
He said the investigation must establish how many people were arrested and how many died, the authorised capacity of the detention facility, the number of detainees in the affected cell, and the ventilation, sanitation and general conditions of the facility.
Other issues, he said, included whether detainees were medically screened upon admission, when signs of illness or physical distress first became apparent, whether they called for assistance, and how officers on duty responded.
He also demanded clarification on when medical assistance was sought, what treatment was provided, and what custody registers, duty rosters, incident reports and available CCTV footage revealed about the incident.
Nwanguma further called for the precise causes, manner and approximate times of the deaths to be established, while urging authorities to disclose whether families of the deceased were promptly informed and whether survivors and relatives had access to lawyers and independent investigators.
While welcoming the reported decision by the NSCDC authorities to investigate the incident, he said an internal investigation alone could not adequately meet the requirements of independence and public accountability.
“An internal investigation by the institution under whose custody the deaths occurred cannot, by itself, satisfy the requirements of independence, public confidence and accountability,” Nwanguma said.
He called on the Federal Government to ensure an independent investigation involving the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and other appropriate authorities outside the NSCDC chain of command.
RULAAC also demanded independent forensic post-mortem examinations on the deceased, including laboratory and toxicological examinations where necessary.
According to Nwanguma, families should be properly notified and granted reasonable access to information concerning the examinations.
He further urged authorities to immediately secure all relevant evidence, including CCTV recordings, custody registers, arrest records, duty rosters, medical records, communication logs and incident reports, against loss, alteration or destruction.
He called for confidential interviews with survivors and protection against intimidation or retaliation.
Nwanguma also raised concerns about the conditions of detention during mass arrest operations, warning that security and law-enforcement agencies should not arrest more people than their detention facilities can safely accommodate.
He acknowledged the government’s responsibility to enforce laws against illegal mining, given its economic, environmental and security implications, but insisted that law enforcement must operate within the law.
“No allegation of illegal mining can justify torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, dangerous detention conditions or neglect of persons experiencing medical distress,” he said.
Nwanguma called for the full disclosure of the verified number and identities of those who died, proper accounting for all survivors, independent investigations and autopsies, witness protection, and prosecution or disciplinary action against anyone found responsible.
He also demanded effective remedies, including appropriate compensation for victims’ families, if negligence, unlawful conduct or other official failures were established.
“This tragedy must not be reduced to competing official and media narratives. The facts must be established,” Nwanguma said.
“The dead deserve the truth. Their families deserve answers. And the public deserves assurance that persons taken into the custody of the State will not disappear behind detention walls and emerge dead without accountability.”
