By our reporter 27.10.2026
The Independent Investigative Committee on the deaths of Minna Niger State miners has blamed overcrowded cell and negligence of duty for the horror that claimed 33 lives at a detention centre run by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
Jonathan Kure who is chairman of the investigative committee made the disclosure while presenting the committee’s findings to the minister of interior Mr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo in Abuja on Tuesday. The committee in their report recommended that a compensation of N1.4bllion should be paid the families of the victims and the 44 survivors.
The NSCDC had arrested about 77 miners in Wushishi-Lukoto area west of Minna on September 15, 2026, and cramped them into a cell that can only hold up to 20 persons. Overnight several of the detainees were discovered stone dead. Kure maintained that the deaths were avoidable as the victims, including 14 minors, were held in inhuman conditions.
The committee also recommended summary dismissal of the Niger State NSCDC commandant and all other officers who were directly involved in the detention and eventual death of the miners
The committee equally recommended institutional reforms for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in order to strengthen the leadership of the corps.
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who received the report, promised to implement the recommendations of the committee in order to ensure justice for all affected persons.
Minna miners who survived the NSCDC detention horror show.