Detainees held in a cell of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State drank urine and sweat because they had no access to water before 33 of them died, an investigative panel has found.
The findings are contained in the report of the Independent Investigation Committee set up by the Federal Ministry of Interior, a copy of which Premium Times obtained.
The 10-member committee, chaired by Jonathan Kure, confirmed that the 33 deaths, including 14 minors, occurred in the male cell between 8 pm on September 16 and 7 am on September 17. It said there were 41 survivors.
The report said about 50 male detainees, including children, were packed into a cell of about 12 square metres, with a solid metal door and poor ventilation.
It noted that the cell had no running water and its toilet was not working, adding that detainees “drank urine or sweat.”
Survivors described extreme heat, dehydration and overcrowding, saying they could not move freely inside the cell.
In the female cell, the panel found no drinking water except what relatives brought, and the toilet could be used only with fetched water.
Relatives were also prevented from bringing food to the detainees on September 16.
“The Committee finds that officers responsible for the cells failed to reduce the overcrowding, ignored prolonged cries and banging of the cell door and wall and did not provide emergency help,” the report said.
It stated that from about 7.15 pm on September 16, detainees began to experience eye irritation, burning throats, breathing difficulties, excessive sweating and intense thirst, and started crying out for help and water.
The committee found that a member of the NSCDC medical unit, Mariam Nelson, had warned the cell guards, Usman Ndamaka and Hassan Mohammed, on the evening of September 16 that the overcrowding could lead to suffocation.
She said she advised them to leave the metal door unlocked to let in air, but they ignored her.
An armoury guard, Ahmed Wushishi, told the panel that he heard continuous banging and screaming from the cell between 1 am and 2 am on September 17 and urged the night guard, Mohammed, to open the door.
Mohammed refused, citing an instruction from his superior, Ndamaka, not to open the cell without armed backup for fear that the detainees might escape.
Wushishi said the screaming stopped at about 2.30 am.
Ndamaka admitted giving the instruction and failing to answer an emergency call from Mohammed at 10.37 pm on September 16, claiming he was asleep.
He returned the call at about 6 am and arrived at the facility around 7 am, when the cell was opened and the bodies were discovered.
The report also found that a profiling officer, Abubakar Dabban, recorded four children under the age of 14, but still placed them in adult cells.
The committee described this as a violation of the children’s rights and child protection laws.
The panel attributed the deaths to acute hypoxic respiratory failure, also known as environmental asphyxia, worsened by heat stress and dehydration.
It noted, however, that its medical conclusion was based on post-mortem examinations of only three bodies, as the other 30 had been buried before the medical team arrived.
The committee rejected claims that a disease outbreak caused the deaths.
It listed the remote causes as the failure of NSCDC officers in their duty of care, poor detention facilities, inadequate emergency medical arrangements and weak supervision.
The panel recommended the prosecution of officers found culpable for offences including murder, criminal negligence, torture and inhuman treatment, where applicable.
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