From SAMUEL MATHIAS, Minna
Thirty-seven artisanal miners died from acute respiratory failure caused by prolonged confinement in an overcrowded and poorly ventilated detention cell at the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) command headquarters in Minna, Niger State, a Federal Government ministerial investigation panel has found.
The committee, set up to investigate the deaths, also established that the miners’ arrest was unlawful and was carried out without approval from the NSCDC national headquarters.
Presenting the committee’s findings to the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, in Abuja on Tuesday, October 27, its chairman, Jonathan Kure, identified overcrowding, unsuitable detention conditions, failure of duty of care and inadequate supervision as among the factors responsible for the tragedy.
“The committee concluded that the incident was a preventable custodial tragedy caused by severe overcrowding, unlawful and unsuitable detention conditions, failure of duty of care, disregard of repeated distress warnings, inadequate supervision and wider systemic deficiencies,” the report stated.
The committee said the evidence gathered did not support claims that the deaths resulted from a disease outbreak, adding that available medical and forensic evidence pointed instead to acute respiratory failure caused by prolonged confinement in a severely overcrowded and poorly ventilated cell, aggravated by heat stress and dehydration.
The investigation involved interviews with NSCDC leadership, operational personnel, cell guards, medical staff, survivors, bereaved families, community representatives and graveside managers, as well as an examination of arrest and detention registers, communication records, duty rosters, AZB registers, hospital and mortuary records, autopsy findings and burial records.
The panel also interviewed 29 of the 41 survivors, including nine minors, and analysed and cross-checked evidence from multiple independent sources to reconstruct the events and establish responsibility.
According to the report, the tragedy stemmed from enforcement operations against suspected illegal mining activities in and around Minna.
The committee further established that the arrests were carried out without legal authorisation and that the NSCDC national headquarters had not approved the operation.
It would be recalled that the incident occurred on September 16, 2026, when NSCDC operatives in Niger State raided a mining site in the MI Wushishi area of Minna and arrested several miners, who were subsequently detained at the corps’ command headquarters.
On September 17, 37 miners were reported dead, triggering protests across the state capital and resulting in further destruction and vandalism of public facilities, with additional deaths and casualties also reported.
Following the incident, the Federal Government, through the Minister of Interior, announced the immediate suspension of the Niger State NSCDC Commandant, SS Aniviye, alongside other officers implicated in the incident, pending a thorough investigation.