Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, a
Nigeria’s ten-member independent committee investigating the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) was formally inaugurated this afternoon at the Minister’s Conference Room, Federal Ministry of Interior, Old Federal Secretariat, Abuja.
A solemn gathering that included a minute of silence for the deceased citizens and closed with a blunt warning to the paramilitary agencies under investigation: cooperate, or answer for it.
The ceremony was conducted by the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, acting on the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for a “comprehensive, transparent and unhindered” inquiry into the incident of Thursday, 17 September 2026, in which the 37 detainees died while held by the NSCDC’s Niger State Command on suspicion of illegal mining.
In attendance were the heads of Nigeria’s paramilitary services, including Rtd. Major General Abdulmalik Jibrin, Secretary of the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB); CG Olumode Samuel Adeyemi, Controller-General of the Federal Fire Service; CG Kemi Nanna Nandap, Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service; CG Ahmed Abubakar Audi, Commandant-General of the NSCDC; CG Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche, Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS)and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior.
Presiding over the inauguration, the Minister reiterated that the committee’s independence was non-negotiable, cautioned all paramilitary agencies present against interference in its work, and directed them to render whatever assistance the panel required.
The independent investigative committee is chaired by Mr Jonathan Kure, a retired Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services, with Prof. Isa Hayatu Chiroma, SAN, a former Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, serving as Secretary. Also present were the Committee’s eight other members, among them Dr George Agbakahi, the internationally respected Nigerian diaspora scholar and public analyst whose inclusion has been widely welcomed as a mark of the committee’s credibility.
Dr Agbakahi was accompanied by Prince Ade Omole, who had earlier commended President Tinubu for the swiftness of his directive. Speaking after the inauguration, Omole said that on behalf of Nigerians in the diaspora, “our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the departed, and may the souls of the departed continue to rest in perfect peace”.
Chairman Kure declared that justice in this case “will not only be done, but will be seen to have been done”, a pledge aimed squarely at a public that has demanded accountability since news of the deaths broke. For his part, Dr Agbakahi assured Nigerians that the investigation would be thorough, full and independent, describing the assignment as “a call to service” that the team would discharge professionally and transparently.
The committee has been given two weeks to complete its work and submit its findings to the Minister of Interior, especially to establish the identities of the dead, the circumstances of their arrest and detention, and where responsibility for their deaths ultimately lies.
