The independent ministerial committee investigating the recent deaths of 33 persons in the custody of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, in Minna, Niger State, has unravelled the cause of death of the suspects.
This was contained in the Executive Summary by the Chairman of the Committee, Jonathan Kure, on Tuesday in Abuja, when he presented the report to the Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
The committee cited the causes of death to include “overcrowding, unsuitable detention condition, failure of duty of care, inadequate supervision.”
It added that “fatalities resulted from environmental asphyxia caused by prolonged confinement in a severely overcrowded cell aggravated by heat stress and dehydration.”
According to the committee, the operation which led to the arrest of the suspects was without an “operational order” or approval from the national headquarters of the NSCDC.
