Probe panel reveals cause of 33 deaths in NSCDC custody in Niger

An independent ministerial committee has attributed the deaths of 33 people in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Minna, Niger State, to overcrowding and poor detention conditions.

According to Vanguard, committee chairman Jonathan Kure presented the findings to Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo in Abuja on Tuesday.

The committee identified “overcrowding, unsuitable detention condition, failure of duty of care, inadequate supervision” as factors behind the deaths.

It added that “fatalities resulted from environmental asphyxia caused by prolonged confinement in a severely overcrowded cell aggravated by heat stress and dehydration”.

The panel also found that the operation leading to the suspects’ arrest was carried out without an “operational order” or approval from the NSCDC national headquarters.

The findings raise questions about detention procedures, command oversight and the circumstances surrounding the operation that resulted in the arrests.

The committee’s report was submitted as part of the Federal Government’s investigation into the deaths.