The suspended Niger State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Suberu Aniviye, has pleaded for forgiveness from the families of 37 suspected miners who died in the agency’s custody, describing the incident as a costly and avoidable mistake.
Aniviye tendered the apology while testifying before a panel of inquiry investigating the deaths in Minna, the state capital.
At the panel’s second sitting, chaired by Justice Mohammed Mohammed, the suspended commandant expressed regret over the incident and appealed to the bereaved families to forgive the agency.
Explaining the circumstances surrounding the arrests, Aniviye said the operation followed complaints by residents of the M.I. Wushishi Housing Estate over mining activities in their communities.
He told the panel that he visited the site on September 15 before deploying mining marshals, who arrested the suspected illegal miners the following evening.
According to him, he learnt of the deaths through a telephone call on September 17 and immediately returned to the command’s office, where he found the bodies lying on the floor of the detention cell.
Aniviye said he subsequently informed Niger State Governor, Umaru Bago, who directed that the bodies be transferred to the mortuary.
He added that he also contacted the state Commissioner of Police and the Director of the Department of State Services to notify them of the incident.
The suspended commandant further disclosed that the suspects were scheduled to be arraigned in court on September 17, the day their deaths were discovered.
Other witnesses who testified before the panel included the NSCDC state legal officer, Stephen Tsado, and Maryam Etang, a nurse attached to the command’s medical unit.
Following the proceedings, the panel chairman and other members visited the Minna General Hospital mortuary, where the victims’ bodies were being kept.
Mohammed disclosed that three of the bodies remained unclaimed as the inquiry into the deaths continued.
