An independent investigation committee has found that Niger State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Siyaka Suberu, deliberately attributed the deaths of 33 detainees in the agency's custody to a fictitious disease outbreak. This was done in an attempt to conceal the circumstances surrounding the tragedy. The committee's report, submitted to the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on October 27, 2026, revealed that Suberu personally authored and issued the statement.
The committee, chaired by Jonathan Kure, discovered that the detainees died following confinement in a severely overcrowded and poorly ventilated cell at the NSCDC state Command in Minna, Niger State. Medical investigations identified environmental hypoxia, a condition in which the body is deprived of sufficient oxygen, as the most likely cause of the deaths. Heat stress and dehydration were identified as contributing factors. Autopsy and histological findings were consistent with environmental asphyxia.
The panel's medical investigations were limited to three of the deceased, identified as Emmanuel Emeka, Kabiru Suleiman, and Idris Haruna. Post-mortem examinations were conducted on these individuals. The remaining 30 detainees had been buried before the pathology team arrived, making it impossible to establish their individual causes of death through post-mortem examinations. The committee, however, noted that the circumstances and timing of the deaths suggested that they resulted from the same mechanism identified in the three examined cases.
The investigation also uncovered serious breaches of operational procedures during the operation that led to the mass arrests and subsequent detention of the victims. The Niger State command conducted the operation without involving the specialised Mining Marshals Unit and failed to issue a formal operational order or undertake adequate operational planning. The committee said the command equally disregarded established standard operating procedures and the NSCDC's Open Detention protocols.
The Open Detention arrangement, which was not applied in this case, involves holding suspects in a guarded, well-ventilated courtyard rather than confining them in cells beyond their capacity. The panel discovered that the detention register for September 16 was missing, while officers allegedly tampered with the detention facility before independent forensic examinations could be conducted. The cells had been scrubbed, washed, and disinfected, while their identification numbers were fraudulently changed.
The committee confirmed 33 deaths, including 14 minors, and 41 survivors, including nine minors. It recommended disciplinary and legal action against culpable officers, as well as compensation for victims' families. Suberu, who was suspended following the incident, had expressed shock over the development and claimed that he immediately contacted the NSCDC Commandant-General, Ahmed Audi, the Niger State governor, and other security agencies.
The committee's report described the incident as a custodial tragedy and accused Suberu of attempting to shift responsibility to his subordinates while expressing regret over the deaths. The panel's medical conclusions remained provisional pending the outcome of toxicology examinations. Key findings include a fictitious disease outbreak claim, environmental asphyxia as the cause of death, and breaches of operational procedures.
Key points
- The Niger State NSCDC Commandant, Siyaka Suberu, lied about a disease outbreak to conceal the deaths of 33 detainees in custody.
- The detainees died due to environmental asphyxia caused by confinement in a severely overcrowded and poorly ventilated cell.
- The incident was a result of breaches of operational procedures, including the failure to apply Open Detention protocols.
