Avocats Sans Frontières France (ASF France) has called for an independent investigation into the deaths of 37 persons held in government custody at a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) facility in Minna, Niger State.

The organisation expressed grave concern over reports of severe overcrowding, inadequate ventilation and delayed access to assistance at the facility.

Many of those who died were reportedly teenagers aged between 14 and 18. Survivors have described a desperate struggle to breathe in an overcrowded cell, saying detainees repeatedly called for assistance as people began collapsing.

While the NSCDC has attributed the deaths to a suspected disease outbreak, the precise circumstances and causes of the deaths are yet to be established.

The Federal Government has announced an investigation and suspended the Niger State NSCDC Commandant pending the outcome of the probe.

ASF France said the Smstate bears a heightened responsibility for protecting persons deprived of their liberty, stressing that once individuals are placed in government custody, authorities assume responsibility for safeguarding their lives, health and physical integrity.

The organisation in a statement signed by its Country Director, Angela Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, said the deaths in Minna therefore raise serious questions not only about their immediate medical causes, but also about whether the authorities took all reasonable measures to prevent foreseeable harm and respond effectively when detainees were in distress.

ASF France welcomed the decision to investigate but stressed that deaths occurring in State custody require a prompt, independent, impartial and effective investigation capable of establishing the circumstances and causes of death.

It said the investigation should examine not only individual acts or omissions, but also possible institutional and systemic failures, including detention conditions, overcrowding, ventilation, access to water and medical care, monitoring of detainees, emergency response and the actions or omissions of officials within the chain of command.

The organisation cited Rule 71 of the United Nations Nelson Mandela Rules, which requires every custodial death to be reported without delay to a judicial or other competent authority independent of the prison administration, which must conduct a prompt, impartial and effective investigation.

It added that the rule also requires the preservation of relevant evidence and safeguards against the involvement of persons who may have a conflict of interest in the investigation.

ASF France also cited the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death (2016), which provides that investigations should examine not only the immediate cause of death but also whether authorities failed to take reasonable measures that could have had a real prospect of preventing the deaths, including failures arising from policies, practices or systemic conditions.

“When people die in State custody, the State has a heightened responsibility to establish what happened and why. The investigation must go beyond identifying the immediate medical cause of death and examine whether failures by individuals, institutions or the wider system contributed to the loss of life.

“Where people are under government control, preventable deaths demand accountability,” said Angela Uwandu Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, Country Director, Avocats Sans Frontières France.

ASF France called on the Nigerian authorities to ensure that the investigation is independent of any person or institution potentially implicated in the deaths.

It also urged the authorities to examine the responsibility of officials and institutions throughout the chain of command, including any failure to provide safe and humane detention conditions or timely emergency assistance.

The organisation further called for the preservation of all relevant evidence, including custody registers, medical records, CCTV footage, communication records and other documentation.

It urged the authorities to ensure appropriate independent forensic examinations and autopsies, where possible and in accordance with applicable standards, as well as protect surviving detainees and witnesses from intimidation, retaliation or interference.

ASF France also called for the families of the deceased to receive timely information and appropriate access to the investigation, while urging the government to implement urgent measures to prevent similar deaths and ensure accountability and effective remedies where violations of law or human rights are established.

It said every person deprived of liberty remains entitled to humane treatment and protection of their life and dignity.

Avocats Sans Frontières France said it works worldwide to promote and protect fundamental human rights and access to justice, including for persons deprived of their liberty.

The organisation said it would continue to monitor developments in the case and urged the Nigerian authorities to ensure transparency, accountability and justice for the deceased, their families and the surviving detainees.