By Anthony Maliki, Abuja
The National Civil Society Council of Nigeria (NCSCN) has described the death of 37 miners in Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) facility in Minna, Niger State not just about recklessness and negligence but rather more about systemic underfunding.
The Executive Director of NCSCN, Ambassador Blessing A. Akinlosotu, at a World Press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, said NSCDC and other National Security Agencies appeared overwhelmed with enormous responsibilities.
According to Akinlosotu, the NCSCN was reacting to the report on the tragedy by the Federal Government’s 10-man Independent Committee chaired by the highly respected Jonathan Kure, a former Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS).
He explained that NSCDC and other agencies are required to secure lives and property of citizens, protect solid minerals and prevention of illegal mining, protection of critical national assets and infrastructure, Safe School Initiative, agro-rangers for farmers-herders peace, and disaster management, yet they operate with medieval detention facilities.
“You cannot demand 21st-century security delivery with 19th-century funding,” he noted.
The Executive Director noted that for NCSCN, the major and indisputable takeaway from the report is that the condition of the detention facility in Minna was deplorable, unhealthy, inhumane, severely overcrowded and grossly unfit for human habitation, with no room for proper breathing and ventilation, leading to the suffocation of detainees.
The Council condemned the unprofessional and reckless actions of the NSCDC officers involved, while applauding the suspension of 21 officers in connection with the incident, and demanding stiffer sanctions, including dismissal and prosecution of all officers of the Niger State Command found culpable.
The Council declared that, among all detention facilities in Nigeria, only that of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) can be considered above average, and called on the government to discourage undue and unjust detention of citizens.
It called on the Federal Government to make adequate and improved budgetary provisions for the upgrade of detention facilities nationwide and for better funding of the nation’s security architecture.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Panel Report never indicted the Commander General. The Report clearly established that the operation in M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto was carried out without operational order, without knowledge and without approval of the National Headquarters. Therefore, no one should politicize or attempt to use this state-level operational failure to incite the public against the National Leadership of the Corp and Federal Government of Nigeria,” the Council stressed.
Akinlosotu noted that the Civil Society Council can unequivocally attest the professionalism and Patriotism of the Commander General of the NSCDC, Prof. Ahmed Abubakar Audi and his monumental reforms, transformation and repositioning of the corps.
He said Prof. Audi has transformed the NSCDC from a low-rated civil outfit into a world-class, intellectually-driven and highly respected security organization.
“His passion for professionalism, discipline, human rights compliance and service to humanity is exemplary and well documented. We can attest to it. The entire civil society community can attest to it,” the Executive Director said.
According to him, the Commander General cannot be everywhere at the same time and if a Police Commissioner fails in his responsibility in a state, the Inspector General of Police cannot be made to bear the consequences and if a Governor fails, the President cannot be blamed. “The same principle of administrative justice must apply here. You sanction the erring subordinate, accordingly,” Akinlosotu said.
The Executive Director called on the Federal Government to as a matter of national security and urgency, approve a Special Intervention Fund and massive budgetary increase for the NSCDC and other security apparatus for construction of standard, humane and well-ventilated detention facilities in all 36 States and the FCT.
He also called for the procurement of operational vehicles, modern surveillance and communication equipment, and continuous training and retraining of personnel on custodial management and human rights.
Akinlosotu said a well-funded, well-equipped and well-trained security architecture guarantees safer and more prosperous in the country.
The Council also urged all security and law enforcement agencies to fast-track the arraignment of suspects before competent courts of law, as it remains the most effective measure to curtail the prolonged, unlawful detention of Nigerians in their facilities and to uphold the constitutional guarantees of fair hearing and human dignity.
“It will not be too much or out of place to declare National Emergency on Detention Facilities and even Correctional Centres in Nigeria,” Akinlosotu noted.
The Council urged President Bola Tinubu to look into the Report by the Panel, constituted on September 19, 2026 and implement wisely and judiciously.
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