Niger State illegal miners die in Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) custody
By Oluwatobiloba Olukanni
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) killed no more than 67 alleged illegal miners during their detention.
The illegal miners who were arrested were identified as internally displaced persons (IDPs) escaping banditry in the Shiroro Local Government Area.
This arrest happened on 15th September 2026, when the Niger State Command of the NSCDC conducted an enforcement raid targeting artisanal and suspected illegal mining operations around the Lt Gen Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi Estate and Lukoto villages.
Reacting to the incident, the state command led by Commandant Suberu Siyaka Aniviye blamed the mass casualties on a sudden “suspected outbreak of disease”, with early national headquarters statements floating a potential diphtheria outbreak.
In a statement by the Niger State Governor Umar Bago, he confirmed that 67 detainees were packed into a single holding, where the detainees were found dead in the earlier hour.
Governor Bago noted that investigators are examining reports that the deceased had peeling skin, were foaming from the mouth, and were bleeding, while other survivor accounts alleged that something was sprayed into the cell before people began collapsing.
One of the survivors, Dauda Shehu, said that the cell was suffocating and entirely lacked ventilation.”We were jam-packed in the cell, with no ventilation for us to breathe well, and all of a sudden, we realised that we could not breathe, and we were all scampering for where to get fresh air.”
He narrated that they appealed to them several times, banging the cell door, but they refused to answer us.
The family members of the deceased also questioned the disease narrative, pointing out that their relatives appeared completely healthy when food was brought to them the day before and noting that none of the facility guards fell ill.
This has led to the residents and fellow miners taking to the streets of the state capital, resulting in violence of throwing stones and sticks at public buildings and buses.
The Federal Government, through Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, with immediate effect suspended the Niger State NSCDC Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, pending the outcome of the investigation.
President Tinubu therefore demanded a full, transparent, rigorous forensic probe, promising that anyone found culpable of negligence or abuse will face the full weight of the law.
Human rights organisations, including Amnesty International Nigeria, condemned the incident as a catastrophic failure of custody protocols, highlighting it as a grim reminder of severe overcrowding and systemic rot within Nigeria’s detention facilities.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) killed no more than 67 alleged illegal miners during their detention.
The illegal miners who were arrested were identified as internally displaced persons (IDPs) escaping banditry in the Shiroro Local Government Area.
This arrest happened on 15th September 2026, when the Niger State Command of the NSCDC conducted an enforcement raid targeting artisanal and suspected illegal mining operations around the Lt Gen Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi Estate and Lukoto villages.
Reacting to the incident, the state command led by Commandant Suberu Siyaka Aniviye blamed the mass casualties on a sudden “suspected outbreak of disease”, with early national headquarters statements floating a potential diphtheria outbreak.
In a statement by the Niger State Governor Umar Bago, he confirmed that 67 detainees were packed into a single holding, where the detainees were found dead in the earlier hour.
Governor Bago noted that investigators are examining reports that the deceased had peeling skin, were foaming from the mouth, and were bleeding, while other survivor accounts alleged that something was sprayed into the cell before people began collapsing.
One of the survivors, Dauda Shehu, said that the cell was suffocating and entirely lacked ventilation.”We were jam-packed in the cell, with no ventilation for us to breathe well, and all of a sudden, we realised that we could not breathe, and we were all scampering for where to get fresh air.”
He narrated that they appealed to them several times, banging the cell door, but they refused to answer us.
The family members of the deceased also questioned the disease narrative, pointing out that their relatives appeared completely healthy when food was brought to them the day before and noting that none of the facility guards fell ill.
This has led to the residents and fellow miners taking to the streets of the state capital, resulting in violence of throwing stones and sticks at public buildings and buses.
The Federal Government, through Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, with immediate effect suspended the Niger State NSCDC Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, pending the outcome of the investigation.
President Tinubu therefore demanded a full, transparent, rigorous forensic probe, promising that anyone found culpable of negligence or abuse will face the full weight of the law.
Human rights organisations, including Amnesty International Nigeria, condemned the incident as a catastrophic failure of custody protocols, highlighting it as a grim reminder of severe overcrowding and systemic rot within Nigeria’s detention facilities.
