Former Acting Deputy Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, (NSCDC), Dr Benito Eze, has attributed the deaths of 37 miners in Niger to non-adherence to the Corps’ established standard operating procedures for arrest and detention.
He said the NSCDC has clear procedures governing arrest and detention, stressing that large-scale operations must receive approval from the Commandant-General and, where necessary, involve other security agencies.
“The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has standard operating procedures in aspects of arrest and detention of personnel. What must have gone wrong is non-adherence to those standard operating procedures that are already laid down.
“Operationally, when any command or state commandant involved has intelligence to carry out a large-scale operation, first of all, they must obtain approval from the Commandant General.
“The Commandant General can also advise whether such an operation should be conducted alongside other agencies—that is where synergy counts.
“I attribute what happened in Niger to the fact that the standard operating procedure stipulated and laid down by the Corps was not followed,” he stressed.
Eze described the deaths as a national tragedy, urging authorities to await the investigation report rather than trade blame, while calling for regular training and retraining of security personnel.
“This is what I regard as a national tragedy. It has happened, and trading blames on individuals will not take us anywhere. Let us strictly get the reports from the committee and work on it. Secondly, there should be provision for training and retraining of personnel. That is key.”
Favour Odima
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