The suspended Niger State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, has admitted that the deaths of suspected unlawful miners in custody may have been averted, apologising to their households and the Niger State Government.
Aniviye tendered the apology on Thursday whereas testifying earlier than the Justice Mohammed Mohammed Commission of Inquiry investigating the deaths in Minna.
He described the incident as a expensive mistake, expressing remorse that it occurred throughout his tenure as commandant.
“I want to use this opportunity to tender my apology to the parents of the deceased, the people and government of Niger State. I regret that the incident happened in my time as commandant,” he advised the fee.
The apology got here because the suspended head of the NSCDC authorized unit, Assistant Commandant of Corps Stephen Tsado, advised the fee that he had suggested Aniviye to launch underage suspects to their dad and mom on bail, however the advice was not adopted.
Tsado mentioned he made the advice to guard the rights of the minors in custody.
“As a legal officer to the command and also as a lawyer, their rights should not be infringed upon. I advised him to grant them bail to their parents,” he mentioned.
Aniviye advised the fee that the operation that led to the arrests adopted complaints from residents across the M.I. Wushishi Housing Estate, who alleged that mining actions had been disturbing their communities.
He disclosed that he visited the mining web site on September 15 earlier than deploying Mining Marshals to the world.
According to him, the operation was performed on the night of September 16, 2026, resulting in the arrest of suspected unlawful miners.
The suspended commandant mentioned he learnt of the deaths by way of a phone name on September 17 and returned to the command’s workplace, the place he discovered our bodies mendacity on the ground of the detention cell.
He mentioned he knowledgeable Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, who directed that the our bodies be taken to the mortuary.
Aniviye additionally contacted the state Commissioner of Police and the Director of the Department of State Services.
He additional advised the fee that preparations had been made to arraign the suspects in courtroom on September 17, earlier than their deaths.
A nurse connected to the command’s medical unit, Maryam Etang, additionally testified that she visited the detention cell on September 16 and 17 as a part of her routine duties.
She mentioned she was shocked when she noticed the physique of Emeka Emmanuel amongst these introduced out of the cell, including that he was not among the many miners arrested in the course of the operation.
The fee is investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths and the conduct of officers concerned within the operation.
