KEY POINTS
- Nigerian police are investigating the deaths in custody of 37 people arrested for illegal mining in Niger State this week.
- Officials blame a suspected disease outbreak, but an intelligence report and a survivor point to overcrowding and poor ventilation in the cell.
- Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago declared three days of mourning, protests broke out, and local outlets say the NSCDC commander was suspended.
Nigerian police have opened an investigation into the deaths in custody of 37 people arrested for illegal mining, with officials and a survivor offering sharply different explanations for the tragedy.
Officers detained the suspects during an operation targeting illegal mining on Tuesday and Wednesday, said Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, head of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Niger State. Specifically, the northeastern region is known for small-scale gold mining. Moreover, officials sent the bodies for medical examination to establish the cause of death.
Conflicting accounts of the deaths
Officials pointed to illness. According to Aniviye, authorities suspect a disease outbreak killed the detainees, though he did not specify which disease. However, an intelligence report cited by AFP suggested overcrowding and poor ventilation inside the NSCDC facility may have caused the deaths.
A survivor offered a starker account. According to Dauda Shehu, who spoke at Minna General Hospital, guards packed 65 detainees into a poorly ventilated cell, and he suggested they suffocated. Specifically, he said the men suddenly could not breathe and scrambled for fresh air, banging on the cell door to alert guards.
Investigation and public anger
Consequently, investigators have urged victims’ relatives to come forward with any useful information. Furthermore, Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago announced three days of mourning, calling the deaths sad and tragic.
The case has stirred unrest. Additionally, protests reportedly broke out on Thursday evening, and police responded by firing tear gas, while local outlets said authorities had suspended commander Aniviye. Nevertheless, key facts remain unclear, since officials have not named the suspected disease and the survivor’s account points instead to conditions in the cell.
Ultimately, the competing explanations leave the true cause unresolved. The police probe and medical examinations will now determine accountability for a custody death toll that has shocked Nigeria’s mining heartland.
