A nine-member Judicial Commission of Inquiry has been established by Niger State Governor Umaru Bago to look into the deaths of 37 people who were detained by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Niger State Command.
Shortly after the commission’s chairman, Justice Muhammad S.A. Muhammad of the Niger State High Court, swore in its members, Bago officially opened the commission at the Government House in Minna on Tuesday.
The governor commended the members and asked them to defend the trust that the Niger State people and state government had placed in them.
He gave the commission four weeks to finish its task and turn in its conclusions.
Nasir Mu’azu, the Niger State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, stated during the inauguration that the governor was authorised by current legislation to create the commission.
Mu’azu referenced the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s Constitution, the Federation’s Tribunal of Inquiry Act, and, in particular, Section 2 of the Commission of Inquiry Law, Cap. 27, Laws of Niger State, 1989—also referred to as the Green Books.
According to him, the commission was set up in response to public outcry after 37 people in NSCDC custody died.
He claimed that neither the state’s duty to protect the deceased’s lives while in jail nor their fundamental rights were diminished by the fact that they were allegedly involved in illicit mining.
The commissioner made it clear that the panel will not look into NSCDC employees’ administrative behaviour or decide whether to discipline officers.
Instead, he stated, its job was to look into the circumstances underlying the deaths that occurred within the Niger State Government’s jurisdiction.
The commission’s mandate includes looking into the circumstances surrounding the deceased’s arrest and the validity of their incarceration.
Along with the circumstances behind the victims’ deaths, it will also look at the conditions and care they received while in detention.
In addition, the panel is supposed to look into the accountability and responsibility of pertinent officers, take into consideration forensic and medical evidence, and reach broad conclusions and suggestions.
Justice Muhammad S.A. Muhammad of the Niger State High Court is in charge of the nine-member commission.
The Ministry of Mineral Resources’ Permanent Secretary, Dr. Abubakar Sadiq Musa; Deputy Commissioner of Police Habila Daniel; Nana Hauwa Isah, who represents civil society; and Babangida Sani Muj, who represents the mining industry, are among the others.