CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS COMMEND FG PANEL’S REPORT ON DEATH OF 37 MINERS IN MINNA

Civil society organizations, CSOs, have met in Abuja to deliberate on the official report of the federal government's panel of inquiry into the tragic death of 37 miners in Minna, Niger state. The groups commended the 10-member committee for its diligent work and condemned the actions of Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, officers allegedly involved in the incident. The meeting provided an opportunity for the civil society organisations to examine the panel's findings and discuss the need for accountability, justice for the victims, and measures to prevent a recurrence of such an incident. We are to urgently convene these emergency sessions of the Council, State of the Nation, media, parliamentary acts, to the official report of the federal government panel set up to investigate the unfortunate deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners. in a detention facilities belonging to the nigerian security and civil defense corps in black states we are patiently and keenly awaited the report since the panel was constituted on september 19 2026 following a directive by the president bola metinu gcfr for what the president prescribes as a full and transparent investigation into the incident the council commends the The trepidation and thoroughness of the 10-man independent committee shared by the highly respected Mr. Jonathan Kure, former Deputy Director General of the Department of State Service, DSS. For the National Civil Society Council of Nigeria, the major and indisputable takeaway from the report is that the condition of the detention facilities in Niger State was deplorable, Unhealthy. The condition is inhuman, severely overcrowded, and grossly unfit for human habitation, without no room for proper breathing and ventilation, leading to suffocation of detainees. Therefore, the council outrightly condemned the unprofessional and reckless actions of the NSCDC officers involved, while applauding the suspensions of the twenty-one officers in connection with the incident and demanding stiffer sanctions, including dismissal and prosecutions of all officers of the Niger State Command, found culpable, the tragedy in Minna is not just about recklessness and negligence, rather more about systemic underfunding. NSCDC and other national security agencies appear overwhelmed with enormous responsibility Such as securing lives and property of citizens, protections of solid mineral and prevention of illegal mining, protections of critical national assets and infrastructure, safe school initiative, agro ranger for farmers, peace and disaster management. Yet they operate in medieval detention facilities. You cannot demand 21st century security delivery with 19th century funding. We can authoritatively declare that among all detention facilities in Nigeria, only that of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, can be considered above average. We call on the government to discourage undue and unjust detention of citizens. The council hereby calls on the federal government to make adequate and improved budgetary provisions for the upgrade of detention facilities nationwide. We must commend the panel that was set up by the president and for the report they have given. Just like my leader have said, from the angle and the perspective of Nigerian youth, who are actually victims of the current security challenges in the country, as it has to do with facilities of our security agencies. The truth remains, the facilities are nothing to write home about. Let us start from Mabatuwa. You see, in a facility, you have about 120 young persons in a facility. And no facility you go to in this country, 95% of those in those facilities are young people from the age of 14 to the age of 15, so which is just a generation of our own. So, we are pleading that a state of emergency should be declared on our security facilities ...as it has to do with either the prison... and the cell where citizens are detained. We are talking about human beings here and, you know, as it is in Nigeria, we noticed that this committee actually have done a very good job and we commend them for that. But there is need, you know, watching the body language of some persons that have not acted, because we monitor the proceedings of this committee during all their sittings. And for me, I have noticed that there are some persons that have not actually fully participated in the sittings and are trying to cause some confusion. But just like the idea of the National Civil Society, I say that our concern is to make corrections so that in future we don't experience this kind of thing. We don't want anybody to politicize. This incident is a very unfortunate incident and therefore whatever scores you have against anybody, please just keep it with yourself. Our own concern is how to correct this issue that it will not occur again. So therefore we are calling on the federal government to do the needful to implement most of the recommendations by this committee. It was chaired by a very reputable person, the former DG of DSS. We believe he has done a very good job, but some of them that are trying to cause commotion, we must identify them and ignore and just do the right thing. Thank you very much. Thank you.