The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested 24 personnel, including the suspended Niger State commandant, Suberu Aniviye, in connection with the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the corps’ custody.
Babawale Afolabi, the NSCDC’s national public relations officer, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, saying Commandant-General Ahmed Audi had assured that due process, transparency and accountability would be strictly observed in the investigation involving the 24 personnel currently in custody.
Afolabi said any personnel found culpable would face the full weight of the corps’ internal disciplinary measures as well as applicable laws.
He explained that the number of personnel being investigated had risen from the initial 21 after three more officers were identified and suspended.
“In a swift and decisive joint operation conducted in conjunction with the commandant general’s special investigation squad (SIS), all officers and men of the Niger state command linked to the gross misconduct have since on the 17th September 2026 been taken into protective custody at the national headquarters, Abuja,” Afolabi said.
“They are undergoing rigorous interrogation and administrative disciplinary action, so as to make them available for the presidential independent investigation committee and other investigation panels for further investigation and possible prosecution.”
The NSCDC spokesperson also said the commandant-general had directed that the corps’ flag be flown at half-mast across all its formations for three days from September 20 in honour of the 37 victims.
He said the gesture was “to signal our collective mourning and our unwavering resolve to purge the system of bad eggs.”
One of the surviving detainees among the suspected illegal miners arrested by the NSCDC in Niger State had alleged that 65 people were held in a single cell before operatives sprayed a substance inside and locked the door.
The survivor made the allegation on Friday when Niger State Governor Umar Bago and Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo met with survivors of the incident.
The Federal Government has also deployed a “high-powered” team to Niger State to investigate the deaths of the 37 suspected illegal miners.