The Federal Government has inaugurated a 10-member independent committee to investigate the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners who died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Niger State.

Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, inaugurated the committee on Tuesday in Abuja following President Bola Tinubu’s directive for a comprehensive investigation into the incident.

The 37 detainees died on September 17, 2026, while in the custody of the NSCDC Niger State Command. The cause of their deaths has not yet been established.

The committee is chaired by retired Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services, Jonathan Kure, while a former Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, Prof. Isa Hayatu Chiroma, SAN, will serve as secretary.

Other members include retired AIG Hosea Hassan Karma; Prof. Olayinka Buhari, a professor of Histopathology and former Chief Medical Director of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital; representatives of the Minna Emirate Council and Niger State Government; National Secretary of the Miners Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Liman Sulaiman; lawyer and human rights activist, Deji Adeyanju; Mrs Zainab Suleiman Okino of Blueprint Newspaper; and public affairs analyst, Dr George Agbakahi.

The panel is expected to establish the identities of the deceased and determine the circumstances surrounding their arrest, detention and deaths. It will also examine possible responsibility, negligence or misconduct and recommend appropriate action.

Tunji-Ojo said the government was committed to ensuring that the circumstances surrounding the deaths were fully investigated, while warning against any attempt to destroy or conceal evidence, intimidate witnesses or obstruct the inquiry.

The minister also disclosed that the Niger State NSCDC commander and officers who were on duty between September 15 and 17 had been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.

The committee has two weeks to complete its investigation and submit its report to the Minister of Interior.

Meanwhile, the Niger State Police Command has separately taken over the scene of the deaths and commenced a preliminary forensic investigation into the incident.

The Federal Government has appealed for calm as investigations continue and extended condolences to the families of the deceased.