Miners’ deaths: Panel finds ‘elements of institutional gaps, overzealousness’
…Seeks 2-week extension, cites pending forensic, pathology reports
By Omeiza Ajayi, Abuja
The independent ministerial committee investigating the recent deaths of 37 persons in the custody of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps NSCDC in Minna, Niger State, has asked for two more weeks to submit its report, saying forensic and pathology results were still outstanding.
Chairman of the committee, Jonathan Kure, told journalists on Tuesday in Abuja that the panel has already identified troubling lapses as part of its preliminary findings.
“There are elements of institutional breakdown. There are elements of overzealousness. Some elements that will require more training for personnel,” he said.
The committee which was set up by the Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on September 22 was mandated to submit its report within two weeks of its inauguration. It is now seeking an extension from the initial submission date of October 7 to October 21, 2026.
Kure said the panel should have handed in its report by now, but the nature of the assignment got in the way.
“Because of the timeline given to us, by today we should have turned in our report. But the peculiar nature of this investigation involves a large volume of testimonies and evidence which require our meticulous review and collation,” he said.
The committee listed three reasons it could not conclude its work: the large volume of testimony and documentary evidence, the pending forensic and pathology reports “essential to establishing the cause of death”, and “the need to afford all persons implicated, including the officers already suspended, a fair opportunity to respond, so that the Committee’s findings and recommendations will withstand scrutiny and command public confidence.”
The committee said “appreciable progress has been recorded”, including inspection of the custody facility, conduct of autopsies, taking of witness statements from NSCDC personnel, survivors, families and other witnesses, and collection of documentary and forensic evidence.
Kure said the panel travelled to Minna, where it “was able to have interaction with all the survivors” and met “with bereaved families”.
“We were also able to go to the mining site, as well as visiting the State Command Headquarters of the Civil Defence, where we went to the scene of the incident,” he said.
According to him, the committee has also met “all the Civil Defence personnel, officers and men that were involved, either directly or indirectly, in that incident. ” He added, “We are still interacting with them. We are not through with that process.”
The committee thanked the Ministry of Interior, the NSCDC, the Niger State Government, the Minna Emirate, members of the affected communities and survivors for their cooperation.
Assuring Nigerians that the extension would not dilute the work, the chairman said, “We promised Nigerians a thorough job. We are determined to do what is just and what is right, and it will have to be seen to be thorough and credible.”
He pledged that “within the next two weeks, we are not going to sleep,” so that the committee can “come back to you, come back to the Minister, and submit a report that will be seen to have done justice where justice is due.”
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