Following the release of the investigation report, the National Civil Society Council of Nigeria (NCSCN) has called for the dismissal and prosecution of culpable officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) over the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in a detention facility in Minna, Niger State.

It also urged the federal government to declare a national emergency on detention facilities and correctional centres, citing deplorable conditions, overcrowding and inadequate ventilation in custodial facilities across the country.

Meanwhile, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested an NSCDC official, Onoja Samuel, for allegedly possessing a pistol and 17 live bullets at Kubwa Market in Bwari Area Council, Abuja.

The FCT Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi, disclosed this to journalists yesterday, saying that the Kubwa Police Division received a distress call about a man armed with a pistol and firing sporadically into the air at a market in Kubwa.

Citing the panel’s report on the facility where the miners died as unhealthy, inhumane, severely overcrowded and unfit for human habitation, the NCSCN Executive Director, Amb. Blessing Akinlosotu, told newsmen in Abuja yesterday that the suspension of 21 personnel connected with the incident was welcome.

However, he attributed the tragedy not only to alleged recklessness and negligence but also to the systemic underfunding of security agencies that were expected to perform extensive duties without adequate infrastructure and resources.

The council argued that the NSCDC and other security agencies have responsibilities ranging from protecting lives and property, safeguarding solid minerals and preventing illegal mining, to securing critical national assets, supporting the Safe School Initiative and managing disasters.

Consequently, the government cannot expect modern security operations from agencies operating inadequate detention facilities, Akinlosotu said.

He further urged the federal government to increase budgetary allocations for security agencies and provide a special intervention fund to construct standard, humane and well-ventilated detention facilities across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Among others, the proposed funding, he said, should also cover operational vehicles, modern surveillance and communication equipment, as well as continuous training of personnel in custodial management and human rights compliance.

Nevertheless, the council defended the NSCDC’s Commandant-General, Prof. Ahmed Audi, insisting that the investigative panel did not indict him over the incident. He warned against politicising the incident or using the state-level operational failure to discredit the corps’ national leadership or the federal government.

According to the FCT CP, police operatives attached to the division were promptly deployed to the scene and successfully apprehended the suspect.

Sanusi said preliminary investigations identified the suspect as a Deputy Superintendent of Corps with the NSCDC, adding that further findings indicated that he had gone to the market armed with a pistol following reports that some traders had assaulted his wife. (The Guardian)