By Lizzy Chirkpi
The deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State, have triggered investigations by the Federal Government, with the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, visiting the state amid growing questions over what happened inside the detention facility.
The victims were among 67 artisanal and suspected illegal miners arrested by NSCDC operatives during enforcement operations in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State on September 15 and 16, 2026.
The NSCDC said the operations led to the arrest of scores of suspected illegal miners and the recovery of various exhibits.
However, barely a day after the arrests, tragedy struck.
According to the NSCDC, some of the detainees were found dead in the early hours of Thursday, September 17. The Corps initially described the deaths as a suspected outbreak of disease.
The Niger State NSCDC Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, said the corpses were deposited at the General Hospital, Minna, for medical examination to establish the actual cause of death.
Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago subsequently confirmed that 37 detainees had died.
Bago said 67 artisanal and suspected illegal miners had been detained in an NSCDC cell, with 37 of them later found dead.
He said the exact cause of death remained unknown, adding that medical, forensic and biological examinations were being conducted.
According to the governor, investigators were examining several possibilities, including suffocation caused by overcrowding and exposure to poisonous or hazardous substances allegedly encountered at the mining site.
“The first one is that the office of the Niger State Civil Defence arrested 67 artisans and illegal miners and put them in their cell,” Bago said.
He cautioned against reaching premature conclusions on the cause of the deaths, saying the ongoing forensic and medical examinations would provide evidence needed to determine what happened.
Conflicting accounts
A survivor, identified as Dauda Shehu, has given a different account of conditions inside the facility.
Shehu alleged that about 66 detainees had been crammed into a small cell, making conditions unbearable.
He said detainees began struggling to breathe and that some attempted to force open the cell after several people started experiencing breathing difficulties.
Another account published on Friday alleged that a substance resembling perfume was sprayed inside the cell shortly before some detainees began collapsing.
The account also alleged that the room became extremely hot and that detainees pleaded for water.
The allegations have not been independently established and are among the issues expected to be examined by investigators.
The conflicting accounts have raised questions about the condition of the detention facility, the number of people held there, ventilation, access to water and medical attention, and the response of officers when detainees reportedly began showing signs of distress.
Governor Bago has called for the autopsies and other examinations to be expedited.
“It is very important to understand that responsible mining must be the way forward where miners will have to use protective gears and also a lot of advocacy by the ministry must be done and must be continuous where people don’t understand the danger and the consequences of mining,” the governor said.
He described the deaths as significant and called for the circumstances surrounding the tragedy to be established through a thorough investigation.
The state government has constituted a committee of inquiry, while the police and NSCDC have also commenced separate investigations.
NSCDC commandant suspended
The Federal Government has suspended the Niger State NSCDC Commandant, Aniviye, pending the outcome of the investigations.
The suspension was ordered by Tunji-Ojo, according to a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Alao Babatunde.
The minister said the commandant would remain suspended while a full investigation was conducted.
“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.
He added: “We run a government whose ultimate priority is security of lives and we have worked to stay true to this.”
The NSCDC Commandant-General, Ahmed Abubakar Audi, also directed Aniviye to step aside and report to the Corps’ national headquarters in Abuja to participate in the investigative process.
The Corps subsequently constituted a high-powered investigative team led by the Deputy Commandant-General in charge of Intelligence and Investigation.
The panel is expected to examine the circumstances surrounding the arrests, the condition of the detainees when they were taken into custody, their treatment while in detention, medical attention provided to them and the events leading to their deaths.
Tunji-Ojo, IGP visit Minna
As pressure mounted for answers, Tunji-Ojo travelled to Minna on Friday and met with Governor Bago at the Niger State Government House.
The minister vowed that the deaths would not be swept under the carpet.
“I want to assure you, as government, that this will not slide,” Tunji-Ojo said during the visit.
He also commiserated with the governor and the families and relatives of the deceased.
The minister was expected to visit the detention facility where the detainees were held as part of the government’s response to the incident.
Disu also arrived at the Niger State Government House in Minna on Friday to meet with Bago.
The IGP commiserated with the state over the deaths and assured the governor that the police would thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding the fatalities.
“I am here this afternoon because of the tragic incident where we lost the lives of 37 citizens of Minna and of this same great state,” Disu said.
“It is a very tragic incident, and we want to assure you, Your Excellency, that we will leave no stone unturned to unravel the situation that led to these deaths.”
The IGP said deaths in custody were a serious matter within the investigative responsibility of the police and indicated that the Nigeria Police Force would work with the state government and other agencies involved in the probe.
Tinubu orders transparent investigation
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has also ordered a full and transparent investigation into the deaths.
In a statement issued on Friday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President said the life of every Nigerian mattered and that no citizen should die in government custody as a result of negligence, abuse, inhumane treatment or dereliction of duty.
Tinubu said the fact that the victims were suspected of illegal mining did not remove their right to life, dignity and humane treatment.
He directed investigators to examine the circumstances of the arrests, the condition of the detainees when they were taken into custody, the conditions under which they were detained, the medical attention provided to them and the events leading to their deaths.
The President further warned that the suspension of officers was only an administrative measure and should not prevent criminal prosecution where evidence establishes responsibility.
“If the investigation establishes that any official, through action, abuse or negligence, contributed to these deaths, such an officer must be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law. There must be accountability,” Tinubu said.
He also directed the Ministry of Interior and NSCDC leadership to cooperate fully with the investigation and ensure that no officer interfered with the process.
The deaths have shifted attention from the government’s campaign against illegal mining to the treatment of suspects after their arrest.
While authorities have maintained that illegal mining must be tackled, the central question now confronting investigators is how 37 people came to die while in the custody of a government security agency less than two days after their arrest.
The various investigations will have to establish whether the deaths were caused by disease, overcrowding, suffocation, exposure to hazardous substances, a combination of factors or another cause entirely.
Until the forensic and medical examinations are completed, none of these explanations can be treated as established fact.
Meanwhile, the deaths have sparked protests and public anger in Minna, prompting increased security deployment and other measures by the state government to restore calm.
With the NSCDC commandant suspended, separate investigations underway and the IGP personally visiting the state, attention is now focused on the findings of the various probes and whether anyone found responsible will face administrative or criminal consequences.