NSCDC probes miners’ deaths after 37 suspected illegal miners died in custody in Niger. Medical and police inquiries seek the cause

Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps Commandant General, Prof Ahmed Abubakar Audi, on Thursday, 17 September 2026, ordered a high-powered investigation in Minna, Niger State, into the deaths of suspected illegal miners who died in NSCDC custody after enforcement operations in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas on 15 and 16 September.

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The decision followed the discovery of multiple detainees dead at an NSCDC facility in Minna in the early hours of Thursday, prompting concern over their treatment in custody and questions about what happened between their arrest and their deaths.

The number of deaths was initially reported by several Nigerian outlets as 33, while Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago later put the toll at 37.

The differing figures reflect the uncertainty surrounding the incident in its early stages, although the governor’s confirmation has since provided the clearest official figure.

Audi directed the Deputy Commandant General responsible for Intelligence and Investigation to lead the inquiry.

The panel is expected to examine the condition of the detainees when they were arrested, the circumstances and duration of their detention, the conditions in which they were held, the medical attention available to them and any other factor that may have contributed to the deaths.

The remains have been deposited at the General Hospital, Minna, for medical examination.

The NSCDC has stressed that the actual cause of death has not yet been established and has cautioned against treating claims about a particular disease as confirmed fact before laboratory and medical findings are available.

Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, the suspended Niger State NSCDC Commandant, had earlier said the detainees were found dead following what the state command described as a suspected disease outbreak.

The NSCDC national leadership subsequently emphasised that the cause remained subject to confirmation.

The Federal Government has since suspended Aniviye and ordered a full investigation. Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo said the incident was unfortunate and that the government would establish what happened under the command’s watch.

The minister said, “It is an unfortunate incident, however, a full investigation will be conducted while the commandant under whose watch this happened remains suspended.”

The Niger State Police Command has also opened a separate investigation. Commissioner of Police Adamu Abdullahi Elleman directed the State Criminal Investigation Department in Minna to establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths and called on relatives and members of the public with credible information to assist investigators.

Governor Bago has described the deaths as “sad” and “tragic” and announced three days of mourning across Niger State. The governor also postponed the planned start of political campaigning in the state in response to the loss of life.

Beyond the official response, accounts from survivors and relatives have introduced a second and deeply troubling account of the final hours inside the detention facility.

Dauda Shehu, identified as a survivor, told journalists that the detainees had been held in a confined and poorly ventilated space.

Shehu alleged that those inside struggled for fresh air before some began collapsing. His account has not been independently established and is among the claims investigators will need to test against medical evidence and other testimony.

Reports citing an intelligence assessment similarly raised overcrowding and poor ventilation as possible factors, although these claims remain part of the investigative picture rather than an established finding.

The NSCDC has maintained that it will await medical and laboratory evidence before determining the cause of death.

The human dimension has become particularly stark for families who say they had expected their relatives to return home after the enforcement operation.

Some relatives told local media that they had visited detainees during their period in custody and were seeking answers about how people arrested over alleged illegal mining came to die within days of their detention.

The arrests themselves formed part of a wider NSCDC campaign against illegal mining, an activity that authorities regard as a threat to natural resources, government revenue and security.

Niger State is rich in mineral deposits and has attracted substantial artisanal mining activity, including gold mining.

The enforcement operation therefore sits within a legitimate state effort to curb unregulated extraction. At the same time, the deaths have placed the conditions of detention and the duty of care owed to people in custody under intense scrutiny.

For the NSCDC, the immediate challenge is to pursue that mining enforcement mandate while demonstrating that the welfare and legal rights of people detained during such operations are protected.

The Corps has directed that the health and welfare of detainees currently in custody receive the highest priority and said measures are being taken to protect personnel who may have been exposed to any illness associated with the incident.

The investigation will now have to reconcile the competing accounts with medical findings, custody records, witness testimony and other available evidence.

Until that process is complete, claims about disease, suffocation, overcrowding or other causes remain allegations or investigative possibilities rather than established conclusions.

For the families, however, the questions are immediate and personal: how their relatives died, whether their welfare was adequately protected while in custody, and whether responsibility should follow if investigators find that procedures were breached.

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The coming medical and investigative findings are therefore likely to be crucial not only in determining the cause of the 37 deaths but also in establishing whether any failures occurred during the arrests, detention or medical care of the suspected illegal miners.