A lawyer and human rights activist, Hamza N. Dantani, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to terminate the tenure of the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Professor Ahmed Abubakar Audi, and order an independent investigation into credible allegations against him.

Dantani made the call in an appeal addressed to President Tinubu, in which he also urged the Presidency to review the tenure and retirement status of heads of security and law-enforcement agencies whose statutory or service tenures may have expired.

He said the appeal was driven by concerns over the rule of law, constitutional governance, institutional accountability and the protection of citizens’ rights.

Dantani particularly questioned Audi’s continued tenure as NSCDC Commandant-General following President Tinubu’s renewal of his appointment for another five years, effective February 27, 2026.

“I respectfully urge Your Excellency to consider terminating his tenure and directing an independent investigation into any credible allegations or complaints concerning his administration, conduct, or exercise of powers, with due process and without prejudging the outcome,” he said.

Dantani stressed that his demand was not personal but rooted in the principle that public officials and security institutions must remain subject to the law.

“My concern is not personal. It is about the principle that no public office should be above the law, and no security institution should operate beyond constitutional accountability,” he said.

The lawyer cited Sections 35 and 36(5) of the Nigerian Constitution, which protect citizens’ personal liberty and guarantee the presumption of innocence.

According to him, while citizens may be investigated where there is lawful cause, arrest, detention or allegations should not be treated as substitutes for proof before a competent court.

“The Constitution protects the personal liberty of every Nigerian under Section 35 and guarantees the presumption of innocence under Section 36(5),” Dantani said.

“A citizen may be investigated where there is lawful cause, but arrest, detention, or allegation must never become a substitute for proof before a competent court.”

He also urged the President to place greater emphasis on protecting citizens from alleged unlawful detention, intimidation, torture, abuse of power and denial of due process.

“Security is not merely about the power of government to arrest or detain; it is also about protecting citizens from unlawful detention, intimidation, torture, abuse of power and denial of due process,” he said.

Dantani further warned that repeatedly bypassing constitutional and institutional boundaries could undermine public confidence in government and create precedents that could eventually affect the same constitutional safeguards on which the government relies.

“Once constitutional and institutional boundaries are repeatedly bypassed, the consequences eventually affect the credibility of government itself,” he said.

“No government should create precedents that may later undermine the same constitutional safeguards it depends upon.”

He consequently called for a review of the tenure of the NSCDC Commandant-General and other security chiefs whose tenure or retirement status requires clarification.

He also demanded the termination of Audi’s tenure and an independent investigation into credible allegations against him, while urging strict compliance with constitutional provisions governing arrest, detention, access to counsel and the presumption of innocence.

Other demands included greater presidential attention to the fundamental rights and welfare of Nigerians and stronger accountability mechanisms within security and law-enforcement agencies.

“Nigeria needs strong security institutions, but those institutions must be institutions of law, not institutions above the law,” Dantani said.

He said he was making the appeal “in the national interest” as a lawyer and human rights activist committed to the rule of law, constitutional democracy and the protection of Nigerians.

The development follows President Tinubu’s directive for a full and transparent investigation into the recent deaths of suspected illegal miners detained by the NSCDC in Minna, Niger State.

The suspects were arrested during enforcement operations against illegal mining activities in Niger State on September 15 and 16, 2026 and detained at an NSCDC facility in Minna.

Thirty-seven detainees were reported dead, with the deaths discovered in the early hours of September 17 following a suspected disease outbreak.

The Federal Government subsequently suspended the Niger State NSCDC Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, pending an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

President Tinubu said the investigation must establish the circumstances of the arrests, the condition of the detainees when they were taken into custody, their treatment and detention conditions, the number of people held at the facility, the medical attention provided and what led to the deaths.

The President stressed that being suspected of illegal mining did not remove the detainees’ fundamental rights, including their right to life and humane treatment.

He also directed that any official whose actions, abuse or negligence is found to have contributed to the deaths should face criminal prosecution.

Tinubu said the suspension of the NSCDC commandant should not replace a determination of criminal responsibility where evidence warrants prosecution.

 

He directed the Ministry of Interior and NSCDC leadership to cooperate with the investigation and ensure that no official interferes with the process.