For Immidiate Release

September 18, 2026

Abuja

CLEEN FOUNDATIONS CONDEMNS DEATHS OF 37 DETAINEES IN NSCDC CUSTODY, DEMANDS INDEPENDENT PROBE AND NATIONWIDE AUDIT OF DETENTION FACILITIES

We are gravely alarmed and outraged by the deaths of at least 37 suspected artisanal miners including, by survivor accounts, teenagers and internally displaced persons from Shiroro Local Government Area while held in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Niger State Command, in Minna. The suspects were arrested on 15–16 September 2026 during an enforcement operation targeting illegal mining and were found dead in the early hours of 17 September. This is one of the deadliest known custodial incidents in Nigeria’s recent history, and it demands a response equal to its scale.

We acknowledge Niger State Governor Umaru Bago’s swift confirmation of the death toll and his decision to suspend the state NSCDC Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, as well as the NSCDC’s own announcement of a high-powered internal investigative team. These are necessary first steps but they are not sufficient. An internal disciplinary process and an internal probe cannot, on their own, deliver the independence, transparency, and accountability this tragedy demands.

We view the official explanation a “suspected disease outbreak” with serious concern as a delibrate attempt on misdiresction of the fact. It has not been substantiated by any released medical or forensic finding, and it stands in direct conflict with survivor testimony describing severe overcrowding and suffocation in cramped holding cells. Pending independent autopsy and forensic results, we regard the disease narrative as unconfirmed, and caution the authorities against allowing it to foreclose scrutiny of custodial conditions before the facts are established.

We state unequivocally, alleged illegal mining is not a capital offence, and no suspect forfeits their right to life by virtue of arrest. Under Section 33 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the UN Convention Against Torture, and the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Mandela Rules), every person in state custody retains an inviolable right to life, humane treatment, and due process. The presumption of innocence does not lapse at the cell door. Persons arrested for economic offences are entitled to appear before a court of competent jurisdiction not to face death through neglect, overcrowding, or unsafe detention.

This is not an isolated failure. It is the predictable outcome of a custodial system in which holding cells across multiple security agencies are chronically overcrowded, under-resourced, and effectively unsupervised by any independent oversight body. Until that systemic gap is closed, Minna will not be the last.

CLEEN therefore demand:

1. An Independent, Multi-Stakeholder Panel of Inquiry distinct from the NSCDC’s internal team and the state judicial committee comprising independent forensic pathologists, human rights organisations, civil society representatives, and family/community representatives, with the authority to conduct independent autopsies, take survivor testimony under protection from reprisal, and determine the true cause of death within a fixed, published timeline.
2. Suspension Pending Investigation and Criminal Accountability beyond the Commandant’s suspension, immediate interdiction of every officer with custodial responsibility for the deceased, and criminal prosecution of any officer whose negligence or misconduct is established, through the ordinary courts.
3. A Nationwide Facility Audit; we call on the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Interior and the National Human Rights Commission, to commission an immediate, independent audit of cell capacity, ventilation, sanitation, and medical provision across all NSCDC, Nigeria Police Force, and Correctional Service holding facilities nationwide, with a published remediation timeline for every facility found non-compliant with the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 and Mandela Rules standards.
4. Full Public Disclosure publication of the inquiry’s findings, the facility audit report, and named accountability outcomes, made freely accessible to the public and to the families of the deceased.
5. Reparations and Support for Families psychosocial support, funeral assistance, and a clear, accessible mechanism for affected families to seek compensation, independent of any pending criminal process.

No Nigerian, regardless of the allegation against them, should enter a law enforcement facility and leave in a body bag. The deaths in Minna serve as a grim reminder that unmonitored detention centers easily become sites of institutional tragedy. Human dignity and the rule of law must not stop at the cell door. We call on the Federal Government to demonstrate true leadership by holding those responsible to account, lifting the veil of secrecy on detention conditions, and guaranteeing that the right to a fair trial remains sacred in Nigeria. We stand with the grieving families of Minna and will be watching closely for a response that matches the gravity of what has happened.

Signed,

Peter Maduoma
Executive Director