The Resource Justice Network (RJN) Niger State Chapter has called on the Niger State Government to urgently establish a permanent State Stakeholders Roundtable Platform. This platform, according to stakeholders, is meant to strengthen the solid minerals business environment, protect host communities, and improve transparency and accountability in the extractive industry. The demand was contained in a communique issued at the end of a one-day engagement on community monitoring in the extractive industry. The workshop brought together community advocates, civil society organisations, environmental experts and local representatives to review the impacts of mining activities across the state. Participants identified three main…
Author: Tina George
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has donated N250 million to the families of 37 miners who died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State, while declaring that Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago had no hand in the tragedy. Tinubu, who spoke through Vice President Kashim Shettima during a condolence visit to Minna on Monday, said the NSCDC is a Federal Government agency and not under the control of the Niger State Government. But while absolving Bago of responsibility, the President demanded answers over the deaths and assured the bereaved families that the Federal Government…
The Resource Justice Network (RJN) has rejected any internal NSCDC investigation demanding the immediate creation of a Judicial Commission of Inquiry that includes civil society groups, the Nigerian Bar Association, human rights advocates, and independent medical experts. The group called for an independent investigation and full accountability after 37 artisanal miners died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna. RJN described the deaths as a tragic and preventable loss of life and a severe violation of basic human rights, linking the incident to the broader criminalization of vulnerable artisanal miners in the…
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has suspended 20 officers alongside the Niger state Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye for the deaths of the artisanal miners in Minna. The officers would remain suspended pending the outcome of the investigation. This was contained in a statement signed by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo on Saturday. The officers include the following; 1. SC Usman Isah Ndamaka — O/C Station Guard 2. ASCI Hassan Mohammed — Station Guard 3. CCA Bala Mohammed — Station Guard 4. CSC Oluwadare Sunday — Arresting Officer/O/C Investigation 5. DCC Obafemi Elvis — Arresting Officer 6.…
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has constituted a 10-member independent committee to investigate the deaths of 37 people detained by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State over suspected illegal mining. This move follows President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive for a comprehensive, transparent and unhindered investigation into the incident of September 17, 2026. The committee is tasked with establishing the identities of the deceased, examining the circumstances of their arrest, detention and deaths, determining responsibility, negligence or misconduct, and recommending appropriate action, including compensation where applicable. It has two weeks to submit its report. Committee…
President Bola Tinubu has directed a thorough and transparent investigation into the deaths of suspected illegal miners while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State. The President insisted that any officials found responsible must face arrest and prosecution. In a statement released on Friday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President described the incident as a serious matter demanding urgent accountability. He emphasised that every Nigerian life is valuable and that no citizen should die in government custody due to negligence, abuse, inhumane treatment, or failure of…
The Niger State Government has ordered the immediate suspension of all mining activities across the state following the deaths of about 37 artisanal miners detained at a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) office in Minna. Bago announced the suspension on Friday when he received the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who visited the state to commiserate with the government and families of the deceased. Bago said the suspension would affect both legal and illegal mining operations until the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development completes tests to determine whether toxic substances in the mining environment contributed to the…
Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has vowed that the Nigeria Police Force will leave no stone unturned in unraveling the circumstances surrounding the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State. Disu gave the assurance on Friday when he visited the Niger State Government House in Minna to condole with Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago and the people of the state over the deaths. He said the police would work with the Niger State Government and the NSCDC to establish the circumstances leading to the deaths, describing…
At least 37 suspected illegal miners reportedly died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State on Thursday, in a development that has raised questions about the safety and medical care of detainees. The deaths occurred after the corps arrested scores of suspected illegal miners during operations at M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto villages on September 15 and 16. The NSCDC Niger Command confirmed the deaths in a statement issued on Thursday, saying the detainees were found dead in the early hours of the day following a suspected outbreak of disease. But the command…
Jeffrey Jelison Jiniyi of Faith Academy, Goshen, Abuja, has emerged winner of the National Brain Bee Competition organised by the Neuroscience Society of Nigeria (NSN). Jiniyi took first position in the competition, followed by Ogbu Munachi Immaculata of M.E.A High School, Enugu State, who came second, while Muhammad Hafiz Kalil of Dolphin Maria, Bauchi State, emerged third. The winners were announced and presented with their awards during the NSN conference and fellowship ceremony held in Abuja. The competition was designed to identify and encourage students with an interest in neuroscience, the scientific study of the brain and nervous system. Explaining…