By Chibuike Nwabuko
ABUJA (PRECISE POST) – The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Nigeria has demanded a full and independent investigation into the deaths of 37 people in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State, insisting that the incident raises serious questions about the State’s responsibility to protect the lives and dignity of people in detention.
FIDA Nigeria, in a statement signed by its Country Vice President, Eliana Martins, and National Publicity Secretary, Chineze Obianyo, said the reported deaths had brought the country to a point where the security operation had become a question of “life, dignity and State responsibility.”
The organisation expressed particular concern over reports that children were among those detained, with one report identifying a seven-year-old among the victims.
According to FIDA Nigeria, survivors reportedly described severe overcrowding, intense heat and inadequate ventilation inside the detention facility, with detainees struggling to breathe and calling for assistance.
It stressed, however, that the precise circumstances and causes of the deaths remained subject to investigation.
“Why did 37 people die while in State custody? And who will answer for what happened inside that facility?” the organisation asked, stressing that the questions require more than expressions of sympathy but “answers, evidence and accountability.”
FIDA Nigeria said the incident was directly connected to its mandate of protecting, promoting and preserving the rights, interests and wellbeing of women and children through the law.
It maintained that arrest does not extinguish a person’s right to dignity, while children do not lose their rights because they, their parents or guardians are suspected of an offence.
“Custody places a heightened duty of care on the State. It does not suspend human rights,” the statement said.
The organisation recalled its previous intervention over the detention and treatment of children arrested during the #EndBadGovernance protests, when it called for detained minors to be released or transferred to appropriate child justice pathways and provided with medical care, nourishment and legal protection.
It said that position remained unchanged, stressing that children deprived of their liberty were entitled to special protection and should only be detained as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period.
FIDA Nigeria welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to constitute an independent committee to investigate the deaths and suspend officers connected to the incident.
However, it said the investigation would only be meaningful if it was independent, transparent, evidence-led and capable of producing consequences.
The organisation consequently called for a full and independent investigation into every death, including an examination of how the detainees were arrested, the basis for their detention, the number and conditions of those held, the availability of medical assistance, when distress was detected and the response provided before the deaths.
It also demanded the immediate preservation of all relevant evidence, including arrest and detention records, CCTV footage, medical records, duty rosters, communication records, photographs, videos and forensic evidence.
FIDA Nigeria further called for accountability against anyone found to have acted unlawfully, breached a duty of care, ignored pleas for assistance, concealed information or otherwise contributed to the deaths.
“Suspension of officers is not accountability,” it said.
The group also demanded the immediate identification and protection of every child affected by the incident, including verification of the identity and age of every child arrested or detained.
It called for surviving children to receive immediate medical care, psychosocial support, legal assistance and protection, and urged authorities not to return them to inappropriate detention arrangements.
FIDA Nigeria further called for independent access to the detention facility by human rights institutions, lawyers and authorised independent monitors, as well as timely and accurate information for families of those who died.
It urged the government to undertake a wider review of detention conditions within security agencies, focusing on overcrowding, ventilation, water, healthcare, emergency response, record-keeping, monitoring and safeguards for children and other vulnerable detainees.
The organisation also called for stronger safeguards for children in conflict with the law, insisting that children must not be swept into adult detention systems during security operations.
FIDA Nigeria said authorities should apply appropriate child justice procedures, prioritising protection, diversion and non-custodial measures wherever permitted by law.
On the unrest that followed the deaths in Minna, the organisation acknowledged that public anger was understandable but cautioned against further violence.
It noted that protests, destruction of property, clashes with security forces and the imposition of a curfew had further complicated an already painful situation.
“But anger must not produce another cycle of preventable deaths,” FIDA Nigeria said. “The answer to a failure of justice cannot be more violence. The answer must be justice.”
The organisation urged the Federal Government, Niger State Government, NSCDC, Nigeria Police Force, National Human Rights Commission and other relevant oversight and justice institutions to ensure that the investigation was conducted without interference and that its findings were made public.
It also called for affected families to be placed at the centre of the response, saying relatives should not have to struggle through bureaucracy or depend on social media videos to obtain information about how their loved ones died. “Thirty-seven people died. Among them were reportedly children. Whatever the circumstances of their arrest, they were entitled to remain alive,” FIDA Nigeria said.
The organisation reaffirmed its commitment to defending the rights of women, children and other vulnerable persons who encounter Nigeria’s justice and security systems.
“The rule of law means more than arresting people suspected of wrongdoing. It also means ensuring that the State exercises its power lawfully, humanely and accountably,” it said.
FIDA Nigeria concluded that detention facilities must never become places where vulnerable people disappear from public view, stressing that families deserved the truth, survivors deserved protection, children deserved justice and any failure by the State had to attract accountability.
