The Coalition of Civil Societies for Transparency and Accountability (COCSTA) has firmly rejected recent calls for the removal of the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Prof. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, following the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in custody in Minna, Niger State.
The civil society group described the demand by lawyer and human rights activist Hamza N. Dantani for the termination of Audi’s tenure as “misguided” and an unnecessary distraction from the ongoing, multi-layered investigations into the incident.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, COCSTA National Coordinator, Comrade Bilal Galadima, expressed deep sympathy for the families of the deceased. However, he stressed that attributing blame to the national head of the corps at this stage is premature and ignores the agency’s established chain of command.
The coalition highlighted that the deceased were among more than 50 individuals arrested during NSCDC operations on September 15 and 16, 2026, around the Lt. Gen. Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi Housing Estate in Minna. Crucially, COCSTA noted that available information indicates the Niger State Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, did not inform the Commandant-General about the arrests prior to the deaths, as profiling and documentation were still ongoing.
“Instead of awaiting the outcome of the different layers of investigation already ordered by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Honourable Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Dantani and his associates chose to grandstand and overheat the polity,” Galadima stated.
The Federal Government has already suspended the Niger State NSCDC Commandant and constituted a 10-member committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths. COCSTA argued that the NSCDC operates through a complex command structure comprising state commands, Deputy Commandant-Generals, Assistant Commandant-Generals, and specialized units like the Mining Marshals. Therefore, establishing the precise chain of responsibility is a necessary prerequisite before holding the apex leader liable for an alleged operational lapse at the state level.
Furthermore, the coalition questioned the consistency of Dantani’s demands, pointing out his history of calling for the removal of security agency heads following civilian deaths in previous military operations and the 2020 #EndSARS protests, regardless of the eventual findings of official probes.
COCSTA maintained that the immediate priority must be to establish exactly how the 37 individuals died, determine whether negligence or misconduct occurred, and ensure that the findings dictate the appropriate sanctions.
“We call on all agencies and organs of government to remain calm and await the report of the probe committee set up by the Federal Government,” the statement concluded. “Whoever is found culpable should face the full wrath of the law.”
As the nation grapples with the grim reality of the Minna incident, the coalition’s intervention serves as a vital reminder: while the appetite for swift justice is natural, sustainable accountability can only be built on the solid foundation of verified facts, not the shifting sands of public outrage.
Promise Idoko is Junior Reporter working with moderncrux He covers global politics and international affairs. Based in Nigeria,
