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The chairman of the investigative committee probing the deaths of 33 miners in Niger State has alleged that the detention facility was washed before medical investigators could examine crucial evidence that might have helped establish the cause of the deaths.
Jonathan Kure said the cleaning of the scene prevented the committee’s medical team from examining vomit, bloodstains and other materials that could have provided vital clues during autopsies and toxicology tests.
The miners died on September 17, 2026, at a detention facility operated by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State, after 50 men were reportedly held in a single cell measuring 12 by 12 metres.
Speaking on The Morning Show, Kure said 75 people were arrested during an operation conducted on September 15 and 16. One detainee reportedly fell ill and was kept outside the cells, leaving 74 people in custody, including 24 women.
According to him, the women were placed in a separate cell, while the remaining 50 men were confined to one overcrowded cell.
Kure said the men began complaining about the heat from the evening of September 16, crying out for water and pleading for help. However, the guard on duty allegedly refused to open the cell after receiving instructions from a superior not to release the detainees.
He said the men continued to collapse inside the cell, with 33 eventually found dead when personnel on the morning shift opened it on September 17. The remaining 17 men survived.
“The cell guard only a single cell guard on duty was told by one of his superiors when he was closing, ‘Don’t on no circumstance should you open this cell.’ And he was acting strictly on that order; he refused to use discretion,” Kure said.
He added that the committee encountered disturbing conditions when examining the incident, with some of the victims reportedly having vomited and showing bloodstains.
Kure said these materials could have helped the medical team investigate competing explanations for the deaths, including claims involving a spray or a disease.
“Before we got there, all these had been washed up,” he said, explaining that the medical team needed the evidence to conduct autopsies and toxicology tests and determine what had caused the deaths.
The alleged washing of the scene has raised questions about the preservation of potential forensic evidence in a case involving 33 deaths in state custody.
Kure’s account also raises concerns about the conditions in which the detainees were held, the instructions given to the cell guard and whether the deaths could have been prevented.
The committee was established to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident and determine how 33 detainees died within the NSCDC facility.
The precise medical cause of the deaths was not established in Kure’s account. His allegations concerning the handling of the scene and the guard’s conduct require verification as the investigation proceeds.
