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Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has called on the Attorney-General of Niger State, Nasiru Mu’azu, to ensure the speedy investigation and prosecution of all persons found culpable in the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners who died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Minna.

Falana, in a statement on Saturday, said the Attorney-General should direct the relevant authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths and prosecute any NSCDC personnel or other individuals indicted by the investigation.

The call came amid a Federal Government investigation into the deaths, which occurred on Thursday, September 17, after scores of people arrested during raids on suspected illegal mining sites were detained at an NSCDC facility in Minna.

The government has since constituted a 10-member independent committee to investigate the incident and suspended officers linked to it pending the outcome of the probe.

The Niger State Governor, Umaru Bago, also confirmed the death of 37 detainees and said forensic and medical examinations, including autopsies, were being conducted to establish the cause of the deaths.

The incident has generated protests in Minna, with reports indicating that some of the detainees were teenagers. Accounts from survivors and relatives have raised concerns about overcrowding and poor ventilation in the detention facility, although authorities have yet to establish a definitive cause of death.

Falana said, “The Attorney-General of Niger State, Nasiru Mu’azu Esq. should ensure a speedy investigation by the State Police Command and immediate prosecution of all indicted suspects by the State Ministry of Justice.”

According to him, the NSCDC had confirmed that more than 50 people were arrested over alleged illegal mining, with profiling and documentation still ongoing.

He described the deaths as a reminder of longstanding concerns over the treatment of suspects in detention facilities across the country, arguing that the circumstances surrounding the Niger incident should not be treated as an isolated occurrence.

Falana recalled the 1980 incident in which about 50 criminal suspects reportedly died after being locked inside a police transport van, popularly known as a “Black Maria,” at the premises of the Tinubu Magistrate Court in Lagos.

He argued that despite such incidents, overcrowding and poor conditions in detention facilities had continued to expose suspects to serious risks.

“The best way to honour the 37 suspects that were suffocated to death last week is to ensure that detention centres in the country meet the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, known as the Nelson Mandela Rules,” he said.

The United Nations’ Mandela Rules set minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners, including requirements relating to accommodation, sanitation, ventilation, healthcare and the humane treatment of people deprived of their liberty.

Falana also linked the Niger incident to a broader concern about the manner in which suspects, particularly people arrested for minor or alleged offences, are detained before trial.

He urged the authorities to ensure that the investigation into the deaths establishes individual responsibility rather than ending with administrative sanctions.

The Federal Government has said the investigation into the Niger deaths would be comprehensive, transparent and unhindered, while the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said the government owed the families of the deceased and Nigerians an explanation of what happened.

Falana also called on the Attorney-General of Ondo State, Olukayode Ajulo, SAN, to prosecute persons allegedly responsible for the mass poisoning that has killed 48 people in the state.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control said 182 cases had been recorded as of September 17 following the reported consumption of locally prepared alcoholic and herbal concoctions in parts of Ondo State.

NAFDAC said five victims had become totally blind while two others suffered partial blindness. Preliminary laboratory analysis also detected high concentrations of methanol in samples of the suspected beverages.

The affected communities include New Town, Odole, Okele, Orita Odigbo, Araromi-Obu and Oniparaga, with Odigbo Town and Araromi-Obu recording the highest number of cases. The agency said cases had also been reported in Irele Local Government Area.

NAFDAC said 15 people had been arrested in connection with the production, sale and distribution of the suspected toxic drinks, while investigations and surveillance were continuing.

Falana urged Ajulo to take over the case with a view to ensuring the prosecution of suspects found responsible for the deaths.

The lawyer said the two incidents in Niger and Ondo underscored the need for the relevant authorities to pursue accountability where investigations establish criminal responsibility, rather than allowing cases involving multiple deaths to end without prosecution.

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The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project defended Nuhu Ribadu when the former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission chairman was being persecuted by the government over his anti-corruption activities.

Now, the civil society organisation is facing a N100m defamation judgment in favour of two Department of State Services officials, with Ribadu serving as National Security Adviser in the same administration.

The contrast was highlighted by legal adviser at Amnesty International’s International Secretariat, Kolawole Olaniyan, in an opinion article titled, “When the state turns the law against dissent under Tinubu’s watch.”

Olaniyan recalled that SERAP had campaigned against Ribadu’s removal as EFCC chairman in 2008, when the late President Umaru Yar’Adua administration sent him on what was described as a “refresher course” after removing him from the anti-graft agency.

According to him, SERAP condemned the decision, petitioned the United Nations over Ribadu’s removal and threatened legal action concerning his replacement.

He added that after Ribadu survived assassination attempts later that year, SERAP demanded an investigation and protection for his life.

Olaniyan further recalled that Ribadu became the inaugural recipient of the Civil Society Anti-Corruption Defender Award in 2009, an initiative he said he helped establish to recognise activists, human rights defenders and civil society organisations fighting corruption.

The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, which was part of the award jury alongside SERAP, WARDC, HEDA and CDHR, confirmed that Ribadu received the inaugural award in 2009.

The centre said Ribadu was honoured for his “courage and commitment to the fight against corruption” and for the “persecution, harassment and intimidation” he had suffered from Nigerian authorities because of his anti-corruption work.

It is against that history that Olaniyan drew attention to SERAP’s current legal battle involving DSS officials.

In September 2024, SERAP alleged that DSS operatives had unlawfully occupied its Abuja office and demanded to see its directors after the organisation called on President Bola Tinubu to investigate allegations of corruption and mismanagement involving the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

Two DSS officials, Sarah John and Gabriel Ogundele, subsequently sued SERAP and its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, over the organisation’s publications concerning the incident.

The officials alleged that SERAP’s publications falsely portrayed them as having invaded the organisation’s office.

The Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, in a judgment delivered by Justice Yusuf Halilu on May 5, 2026, found SERAP liable for defamation and awarded N100m in damages to the two officials.

The court also ordered SERAP to publish apologies to the claimants, pay N1m in litigation costs and pay 10 per cent annual post-judgment interest on the damages until the judgment is fully satisfied.

SERAP has appealed the judgment and sought a stay of execution, describing the decision as legally and procedurally flawed.

In its appeal, the organisation challenged, among other issues, the court’s treatment of the parties, the evidence relied upon and the application of principles of defamation law.

The DSS, however, has distanced itself from the suit as an institutional action.

Following the judgment, the service said the case was not instituted by the DSS but by John and Ogundele in their personal capacities after they allegedly felt defamed by SERAP’s publications.

The agency said an internal investigation was conducted and that the officers obtained approval from the Director-General of the DSS before seeking legal redress.

For Olaniyan, the development is particularly striking because of SERAP’s previous role in defending Ribadu when he was on the receiving end of government pressure.

“SERAP repeatedly defended Ribadu when he was targeted for confronting corruption,” Olaniyan wrote, recalling the organisation’s intervention after his removal from the EFCC.

He described the present circumstances as an irony, writing that “the same organisation that once defended Ribadu against harassment, intimidation and threats to his life is now facing similar tactics of harassment and intimidation for doing its own human rights work.”

Olaniyan said the contrast raised broader questions about the relationship between security institutions and civil society organisations under the Tinubu administration.

“Today, under Ribadu’s watch as National Security Adviser, the DSS is weaponising the judicial system against SERAP and other critics,” he wrote.

However, the DSS’s position is that the defamation action was a personal suit by the two officers rather than a case instituted by the agency itself.

Olaniyan’s article placed the SERAP case alongside other disputes involving the DSS and critics of the government, including its legal challenge to Prof Pat Utomi’s proposed “shadow government” and the cybercrime prosecution of activist and journalist Omoyele Sowore over social media comments about Tinubu.

He also pointed to President Tinubu’s own remarks on criticism in his 2025 Democracy Day address, when the President said Nigerians should not suffer injustice merely for writing a bad report about him or calling him names.

“No one should bear the brunt of injustice for merely writing a bad report about me or calling me names,” Tinubu said, adding that democracy required “a fair degree of tolerance for harsh words and stinging insults.”

Olaniyan said the President’s statement stood in contrast to what he described as the growing use of security and legal mechanisms against critics and civil society organisations.

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Six people were killed while two others sustained varying degrees of injuries in a road crash along the Kabba–Odo-Ape Road in the Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State.

The Kogi State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Lawal Fagge, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview with journalists on Sunday.

Fagge said the crash occurred on Saturday and involved a truck and a commercial vehicle.

He attributed the accident to speeding, urging motorists to avoid speeding, unnecessary overtaking and driving while fatigued.

He said, “It is unfortunate that six persons lost their lives as a result of this tragic incident involving a truck and another vehicle along the Kabba–Odo-Ape Road.

“I can confirm that six persons lost their lives, while two others sustained varying degrees of injuries. We are appealing to motorists to avoid speeding and desist from driving while fatigued. This is very important in preventing road crashes.”

The bodies of the deceased have been deposited at the morgue of the General Hospital, Kabba.