Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has directly blamed President Bola Tinubu, Minister of Solid Minerals Development Dele Alake, and Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo for the deaths of 37 Nigerians who died inside a government detention facility, warning that suspensions of junior officers will not substitute for justice.
Atiku's Statement and Demand for Accountability
The statement, dated Saturday, September 19, 2026, was issued by Atiku's Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, on behalf of the former Vice President. According to Atiku, all 37 victims were arrested by agents of the Nigerian government during an operation against alleged illegal mining, transported to and confined in a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) facility, and never returned alive to their families. Survivors reportedly told authorities they were packed into an overcrowded, poorly ventilated cell where breathing became difficult.
Atiku argued that Tunji-Ojo, as the minister supervising the NSCDC, cannot distance himself from deaths recorded inside an agency under his watch. He said Alake, whose ministry oversees the solid minerals sector connected to the enforcement operation, chose silence over accountability.
"Thirty-seven Nigerians, many of them teenagers, entered government custody alive. Thirty-seven of them died there. The Tinubu administration cannot explain away 37 bodies with press releases, suspensions and bureaucratic excuses," Atiku said in the statement.
Comparison to 2014 Immigration Tragedy
He drew a comparison to the 2014 Nigeria Immigration Service recruitment tragedy, in which at least 16 young Nigerians died and the then supervising minister, Abba Moro, faced investigation and prosecution. Atiku questioned why the same standard should not apply in the current case.
Atiku demanded an independent criminal investigation, not an internal inquiry conducted by government officials. He called for all detention records, communication logs, medical reports and any available surveillance footage to be secured immediately, with independent autopsies carried out and victims' families given representation throughout the process.
Call for Full Chain of Command Inquiry
The statement also called on investigators to establish who authorised and directed the operation, how many detainees were held in the cell, who bore responsibility for their welfare, and when officials first learned that detainees were in distress.
Atiku linked the broader tragedy to what he described as the economic conditions created by the current administration, arguing that unemployment and poverty had driven young Nigerians into illegal mining as a means of survival.
"An allegation is not a death sentence. An arrest warrant is not a warrant to kill. Government custody must never become a gateway to the mortuary," he said.
He maintained that the findings of any inquiry must be made public, and that those found responsible must face the law regardless of rank or political affiliation.
Government's Response and Independent Committee
Previously, Legit.ng reported that Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo constituted a ten-member independent committee to investigate how 37 people died while in the custody of the NSCDC in Niger State, following their arrest on suspicion of illegal mining. The minister announced the move on Saturday, September 19, acting on a directive from President Bola Tinubu for a full, transparent and unobstructed inquiry into the incident, which took place on Thursday, September 17, 2026.
The incident has raised serious concerns about detention conditions and accountability within Nigerian security agencies, with Atiku's camp rejecting any inquiry in which government officials investigate themselves. The demand for an independent criminal investigation remains a central point of contention, as the government's internal committee begins its work.
