Reuters ₦100k Extortion Claim Must Be Probed, Dalung Wants NSCDC CG Audi Investigated
Former Minister of Youth and Sports and ADC Senatorial Candidate in Plateau State, Solomon Dalung Esq., has called for the investigation of the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps [NSCDC], Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi, and a full-scale probe of the Corps from top to bottom over the death of 37 detainees in Niger State.
Former Minister of Youth and Sports and ADC Senatorial Candidate in Plateau State, Solomon Dalung Esq., has called for a full-scale investigation of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps [NSCDC] from top to bottom following the death of 37 detainees in its Niger State custody, alleging a possible systemic culture of extortion.
Dalung, in a statement made on his verified Facebook page, said what happened in Niger State may be far more disturbing than the death of 37 detainees if allegations of extortion are established.
“What happened in Niger State may be far more disturbing than the death of 37 detainees. If the allegations of extortion are established, we may be looking at something deeper than misconduct by a few officers. We may be looking at a culture in which the coercive powers of the state have allegedly been converted into a means of making money from citizens in detention,” he said.
The 37 artisanal miners were arrested in the Wushishi-Lukoto axis over alleged illegal mining and died on September 17 while in detention at the NSCDC Niger State Command in Minna. The Federal Government has suspended 20 officers including the State Commandant Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, deployed a new Commandant Abdullahi Salisu Kabara, and set up a 10-member probe panel, while the Police have taken over the NSCDC facility.
Dalung said families have alleged that money was demanded before detainees could be released, citing a Reuters report of a ₦100,000 demand from one family.
“Families have alleged that money was demanded before detainees could be released. Reuters reported the allegation of a ₦100,000 demand from one family. These claims must be tested against evidence, but they cannot simply be dismissed as the behaviour of a few bad officers,” he said.
The former minister further disclosed that he has received information alleging that some State Commands make periodic financial “returns” upwards through the command structure.
“I have also received information alleging that some State Commands make periodic financial ‘returns’ upwards through the command structure. If that allegation is true, then the corruption is not confined to the person collecting money at the point of detention. It raises the possibility of an organised system in which illicit proceeds move through established channels and those higher up either participate, benefit or knowingly tolerate the practice,” Dalung stated.
He argued that the matter cannot end with the suspension of officers at the Niger State Command.
“That is why this matter cannot end with the suspension of officers at the Niger State Command. A command structure cannot be used to enforce discipline from the bottom while accountability stops at the top,” he said.
According to him, a proper investigation must establish individual and institutional responsibility, including knowledge, authorisation, concealment, neglect, financial benefit or failure of supervisory duty at higher levels, with scrutiny of bank transactions, communications, detention and release records, complaints and internal reports.
Dalung called for the Commandant-General of the NSCDC, Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi, to step aside for credibility.
“Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi is the Commandant-General of the NSCDC and therefore occupies the highest command position in the institution whose personnel and practices are under scrutiny. I am not saying that makes him personally responsible for the deaths. I am saying that the head of an institution cannot be treated as beyond scrutiny when allegations of systemic corruption reach into the command structure he heads,” he said.
“For the credibility of the process, Audi should step aside, or be suspended, while an independent investigation examines not only what happened in that Niger State facility, but whether a wider culture of extortion has been allowed to flourish within the NSCDC and whether anyone in authority has been protecting, benefiting from or deliberately ignoring it.”
He concluded: “Because if 37 people died at the bottom of a system that allegedly profits from detention, finding the officers at the bottom is not enough. We must follow the money. We must follow the command. And we must follow the responsibility. If the evidence leads to the top, the law must reach the top. No uniform, rank or office should be high enough to shield corruption from accountability.”
