NSCDC Custody Deaths: FG Committee Identifies 33 Victims

A Federal Government investigative committee probing the deaths of detainees in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Niger State has identified 33 victims, among them children aged 11 and 12.

The names and other details of the deceased were documented in a master register compiled by the committee investigating the incident at the NSCDC facility in Minna. The panel is chaired by a former Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services, Jonathan Kure.

The register contains information on the deceased, including their ages, arrest dates, detention location, identification records, post-mortem examinations, causes of death and burial status.

Uzaifa Aliyu, aged 11, was the youngest person on the list. Two 12-year-olds, Abdulsalam Samaila, also known as Ismail, and Mohammad Sani Nasir, were also among those who died.

Section 6.1 of the committee’s report stated that the identities of the 33 detainees were established using arrest and detention records, as well as testimonies.

According to the register, the deaths occurred between September 16 and 17, 2026, with the NSCDC Niger State Command listed as the detention location for all the victims.

The committee’s overall findings attributed the deaths to acute hypoxic respiratory failure, also known as environmental asphyxia, worsened by heat stress and dehydration in an overcrowded cell.

However, the report distinguished between its general conclusion and the individual circumstances documented for each deceased detainee.

Environmental asphyxia was recorded as a provisional cause of death in only three cases, while the causes of death for the other 30 detainees were listed as undetermined, largely because post-mortem examinations were not carried out.

The three individuals whose records identified environmental asphyxia as a provisional cause of death were Emmanuel Emeka, 25; Kabiru Suleiman, aged between 14 and 16; and Idris Haruna, 30.

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Emeka was arrested on September 12, while Suleiman and Haruna were arrested on September 16, 2026.

Their records show that post-mortem examinations were conducted on September 21. The three were also listed as remaining in the morgue.

The other 30 detainees were recorded as buried, although their individual causes of death remained undetermined.

Full list of the 33 deceased detainees

The following are the names, ages, arrest dates and other details contained in the committee’s master register:

1. Emmanuel Emeka, 25 — Arrested on September 12, 2026. His father, Emmanuel Onyenaucheya, was listed for identification, and a DNA sample was collected. A post-mortem examination was conducted on September 21. His provisional cause of death was recorded as environmental asphyxia. Status: In the morgue.
2. Kabiru Suleiman, 14–16 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. His cousin, Isiaku Usman, was listed for identification, and a DNA sample was collected. A post-mortem examination was conducted on September 21. Provisional cause of death: Environmental asphyxia. Status: In the morgue.
3. Idris Haruna, 30 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. He was initially registered as “John Doe” before his identity was established through arrest and detention records. A DNA sample was collected, but no reference sample was available when the record was compiled. His post-mortem examination took place on September 21. Provisional cause of death: Environmental asphyxia. Status: In the morgue.
4. Mu’awiya Abdulkareem, 23 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. His father, Abdulkareem Mami, was listed for identification, and he was visually identified. No post-mortem examination was conducted, leaving his cause of death undetermined. Status: Buried.
5. Sani Yakubu (Isiyaku), 25 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. His uncle, Usman Adamu, was listed for identification, and he was visually identified. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
6. Safiyanu Abdullahi, 24 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. His brother, Umar Jubril, was listed for identification, and he was visually identified. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
7. Safiyanu Abubakar, 16 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. His father, Samaila Umar, was listed for identification, and he was visually identified. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
8. Ibrahim Sani (Salihu), 17 — Arrested on September 15, 2026. His father, Sani Danbauchi, was listed for identification. No post-mortem examination was conducted, and his cause of death was recorded as undetermined. Status: Buried.
9. Abdulsalam Samaila (Ismail), 12 — Arrested on September 15, 2026. His father, Samaila Suleiman, was listed for identification, and he was visually identified. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
10. Fahad Sa’adu, 16 — Arrested on September 15, 2026. His father, Sa’adu Mohammed, was listed for identification, and he was visually identified. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
11. Ahmad Aliyu, 19 — Arrested on September 15, 2026. His uncle, Umar Abdullahi, was listed for identification, and he was visually identified. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
12. Safiyu Abdullahi Lado, 18 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. His Islamic teacher, Khamisu Mallam Hassan, was listed for identification. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
13. Suleiman Lawal, 15 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. His father, Lawal Mohammed, was listed for identification. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
14. Usman Abdullahi, 18 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. His father, Abdullahi Usman, was listed for identification. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
15. Ibrahim Musa, 17 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. His father, Musa Aliyu, was listed for identification. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
16. Abubakar Musa, 17 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. His father, Musa Aliyu, was listed for identification. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
17. Abdullahi Mudassir, 19 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. His brother, Abubakar Buhari, was listed for identification. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
18. Samuel Philip Sambo, 18 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. His father, Philip Sambo, was listed for identification. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
19. Yusuf Nasir, 17 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. His father, Nasir Mohammed, was listed for identification. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
20. Mohammad Sani Nasir, 12 — Arrested on September 15, 2026. His father was recorded as Husseini Mohammed, although the report noted that an emirate list identified his mother as Aisha Nasiru. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
21. Abdulbari Suleiman, 16 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. His brother, Abdulrahman Sani, was listed for identification. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
22. Isiya Hamisu, 22 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. His brother, Abdullahi Aliyu, was listed for identification. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
23. Usman Ibrahim, 20 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. His uncle, Sani Idris, was listed for identification. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
24. Suleiman Dantala, 23 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. His father, Dantala Tanko, was listed for identification. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
25. Sani Taminu, 20 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. His father was recorded as Tanimu Garba. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
26. Uzaifa Aliyu, 11 — Arrested on September 15, 2026. His mother, Rashida Aliyu, was listed for identification. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
27. Abubakar Naibi, 57 — Arrested on September 15, 2026. No identifying relative was listed. No post-mortem examination was conducted, and his cause of death was recorded as undetermined. Status: Buried.
28. Abdullahi Abubakar, 15 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. No identifying relative was listed. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
29. Bisalla Adamu, 17 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. No identifying relative was listed. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
30. Sani Isyaku, 18 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. No identifying relative was listed. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
31. Musa Ibrahim, 18 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. No identifying relative was listed. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
32. Idris Bashir, 25 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. No identifying relative was listed. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.
33. Usman Haruna, 18 — Arrested on September 16, 2026. No identifying relative was listed. No post-mortem examination was conducted. Cause of death: Undetermined. Status: Buried.