The African Action Congress (AAC) has demanded justice for 37 suspected illegal miners who reportedly died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State, calling for an independent investigation and prosecution of anyone found responsible.
The party also rejected what it described as the government’s recurring “committee culture” in responding to alleged abuses and deaths in state custody, warning that investigative panels must not become a means of delaying justice until public attention fades.
The AAC made its position known in a statement issued on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Rex I. Elanu.
The party said it was alarmed by reports surrounding the deaths of the 37 suspected illegal miners and noted that the Federal Government had suspended 20 NSCDC officers while also constituting a 10-member committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
While acknowledging that a genuine investigation could help establish the facts, the AAC expressed concern that previous investigations into alleged abuses involving government institutions had frequently failed to produce prosecution or meaningful accountability.
“Nigerians have heard this song before: constitute a committee, generate public attention, produce a report, and allow the matter to quietly disappear without prosecution or meaningful accountability,” the party said.
The AAC warned that investigative panels must not be allowed to become “smokescreens for crimes” or mechanisms for postponing action until public outrage and media attention had subsided.
According to the party, the concern was particularly significant given Nigeria’s history of reported deaths and alleged human rights abuses involving people held in detention facilities operated by security and government institutions.
The party referenced a 2016 report by Amnesty International which, according to its statement, documented the deaths of at least 149 people, including 11 children under the age of six, following detention at the Giwa Barracks military detention facility in Maiduguri between January and April 2016.
The AAC said the reported deaths in Niger State had once again brought the issue of accountability for deaths occurring in government custody to the forefront.
It therefore called on the Federal Government to ensure that the investigation into the Niger State incident is independent, transparent and capable of leading to prosecution wherever evidence establishes criminal responsibility.
The party demanded that authorities establish the precise circumstances and causes of each death through credible forensic and medical investigations.
It also called for the identification of every officer whose actions, negligence or omissions may have contributed to the deaths and demanded that anyone found criminally responsible be prosecuted regardless of rank or position.
Beyond prosecution, the AAC called for justice and appropriate redress for the families of the deceased, stressing that the relatives of those who died in custody should not be left without answers or compensation.
The party also demanded the reopening of unresolved cases involving deaths and alleged abuses in detention facilities where previous investigations failed to produce accountability.
“Suspension is not justice, and a committee is not accountability,” the AAC said.
The party added: “Enough of the committees without consequences. Enough of the investigations without prosecution. Nigerians deserve justice.”
The AAC reaffirmed its commitment to what it described as the struggle for the human, social and economic rights of Nigerians, insisting that deaths in government custody must be subjected to credible investigations and, where wrongdoing is established, meaningful legal consequences.