The Call That Sparked a Backlash
A civil society coalition has firmly rejected demands for the dismissal of the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Professor Ahmed Abubakar Audi, following the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners held in custody in Minna, Niger State. The pushback is pointed, and the reasoning behind it deserves serious attention.
The Coalition of Civil Societies For Transparency and Accountability (COCSTA) issued a statement on 20 September 2026, signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Bilal Galadima. It described the sack demand — made by lawyer and human rights activist Hamza N. Dantani — as “untimely and mischievous”, arguing it distracts from the real questions that need answering.
What Actually Happened in Minna
NSCDC operatives arrested more than 50 persons suspected of illegal mining on 15 and 16 September 2026, near the Lt. Gen. Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi Housing Estate in Minna. The suspects had not been formally charged. Corps spokesperson Babawale Afolabi confirmed that profiling and documentation were still under way when the deaths occurred.
Thirty-seven of those in custody died. The circumstances remain under investigation. What is not in dispute is the scale of the tragedy — and the chain-of-command failure that preceded it.
The Key Admission
Niger State NSCDC Commandant Suberu Siyaka Aniviye acknowledged that he never briefed Audi about the arrests before the deaths took place. That admission is central to COCSTA’s argument. If the Commandant-General was not informed, holding him directly responsible stretches accountability well beyond what the facts currently support.
COCSTA’s position is straightforward: this was an operational failure at state command level, not a directive from the top. Punishing Audi before any investigation concludes would be premature at best, politically motivated at worst.
Government Has Already Acted
The Federal Government moved quickly. Niger State Commandant Aniviye has been suspended, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, alongside Interior Minister Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, ordered a 10-member independent committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
COCSTA is urging all parties to let that process run its course. The coalition’s message is unambiguous: due process must be respected, and conclusions should follow evidence, not public pressure.
Questions About Selective Outrage
COCSTA did not stop at defending Audi. It turned the lens on Dantani himself, raising pointed questions about consistency. The coalition asked why Dantani had not demanded the sack of service chiefs after military airstrikes killed 85 civilians at a religious gathering in Tudun Biri, Kaduna State. It raised similar questions about comparable incidents in Zamfara, Sokoto and Borno states.
The coalition also noted that Dantani did not call for the dismissal of the then Inspector-General of Police over killings during the #EndSARS protests. These are not trivial observations. If accountability is the principle at stake, it ought to apply consistently — regardless of which institution is in the dock.
The Broader Picture
The NSCDC is a substantial organisation. It operates a command structure spanning 37 state commandants, multiple Deputy and Assistant Commandant-Generals, and specialised units including the Mining Marshals. That scale makes central oversight genuinely complex — though complexity is not an excuse for 37 deaths in custody.
Galadima’s statement made the coalition’s bottom line clear: “Whoever is found culpable should face the full wrath of the law.” Nobody is arguing for impunity. The argument is about targeting accountability accurately rather than rushing to satisfy a political moment.
The investigation is ongoing. The facts are not yet fully established. What is already clear is that the deaths in Minna represent a serious failure of duty of care — and that the process of determining exactly where responsibility lies must be allowed to reach its own conclusions.