37 suspected illegal miners die in NSCDC custody in Niger state

Federal and state authorities have launched criminal investigations following the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, the Niger State capital.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has ordered the immediate suspension of the NSCDC Niger state commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, directing him to report to national headquarters in Abuja for questioning. Meanwhile, Niger state governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, has declared three days of state mourning and postponed the official start of local election campaigns scheduled for January.

The victims were among scores of young men and teenagers arrested by paramilitary officers on September 15 and 16 during raids near Borgu and the M.I. Wushishi Estate – a mineral-rich corridor known for informal gold extraction.

Official accounts regarding how dozens of detainees died within 48 hours of arrest differ.

The NSCDC initially claimed the fatalities resulted from an abrupt, virulent disease outbreak, specifically citing a potential cluster of diphtheria—a severe bacterial infection. However, the agency’s national headquarters later backtracked, clarifying that “reports attributing the deaths to any specific disease remain subject to medical and laboratory confirmation.”

In contrast, security intelligence reports shared with international agencies reported by BBC and witness accounts from survivors strongly indicate that the detainees died of severe heat stroke, overcrowding, and asphyxiation inside an unventilated cell.

Dauda Shehu, one of seven surviving detainees admitted to the intensive care unit at Minna General Hospital, described suffocating conditions inside the cell.

“Sixty-six of us were put in one cell,” Shehu said. “My colleagues died from excessive heat and overcrowding. We had immense difficulty breathing as the night went on.”

A father, Abdullahi Dalhatu, whose son survived the ordeal, confirmed that detainees desperately pleaded for help as the cell heated up.

“We believe they suffocated because there was no ventilation,” Dalhatu told reporters. “His friend slumped and fainted, and many others also collapsed.”

“His son described how detainees began collapsing in the heat of the overcrowded cell. He said the detainees repeatedly knocked on the door for help, but nobody opened it.”

Dalhatu added that family members had visited the facility to secure bail or deliver food, only to be turned away repeatedly before receiving news of the mass deaths the following morning.

“Unfortunately, the following day we got the news that our children had died,” Dalhatu said.

Another relative, whose 17-year-old brother died in the cell, questioned the official narrative: “How could a disease kill so many detainees in a matter of hours without apparently affecting any of their guards?”

Full Inquest

Appearing at a press conference in Minna, Gov. Bago condemned the operational failures and pledged an unsparing probe.

“This morning we woke up to the news that about 37 persons died in the custody of the civil defence here in Minna,” he stated. “It is sad and tragic. Our government values the lives of its citizens and will not tolerate any form of injustice.”

“A committee of inquiry accompanied by medical experts and pathologists has been constituted to carry out autopsy examinations,” Bago added. “We will make sure that this incident is probed to its logical conclusion.”

The Minister of Interior said state security agencies must operate within constitutional bounds.

“It is an unfortunate incident; however, a full investigation will be conducted while the commandant under whose watch this happened remains suspended,” Tunji-Ojo said through his media office. “We run a government whose ultimate priority is the security of lives.”

Under Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, individuals arrested on suspicion of a criminal offense must be brought before a competent court within 24 to 48 hours. Legal analysts note that holding dozens of informal miners in unventilated holding cells without formal charges represents a severe breach of constitutional safeguards and basic detention standards.

Federal authorities have attempted to crack down on unregulated sites because illicit gold extraction is deeply intertwined with regional insecurity. Armed criminal syndicates frequently tax artisanal miners, seize raw ore, and launder the proceeds to finance weapons purchases.

Much of the gold mined under these hazardous conditions is smuggled through illegal regional networks into global supply chains—predominantly reaching hubs in the United Arab Emirates before entering markets in Europe and North America, according to a 2024 report by SwissAid.