Tinubu Orders Probe Into Deaths of 37 Miners in NSCDC Custody

Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor 

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered a full and transparent investigation into the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners who died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Minna, Niger State, declaring that any official found to have contributed to the tragedy through negligence, abuse, or dereliction of duty must be arrested and prosecuted. The directive was contained in a statement issued on Friday, September 18, 2026, by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. Tinubu said the life of every Nigerian mattered and that no citizen should lose his life while in government custody as a result of negligence, abuse, inhumane treatment, or dereliction of duty. He described the reported deaths as a grave matter requiring urgent investigation and accountability, adding that the fact that the deceased were suspected of illegal mining did not remove their right to life, dignity, and humane treatment while in government custody.

The miners were arrested during enforcement operations conducted by the NSCDC around the Lt. Gen. Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi Estate and the M.I. Wushishi/Lukoto axis of Minna on September 15 and 16, 2026. They were held in a cell at the NSCDC facility in Minna before their bodies were discovered in the early hours of Thursday, September 17. The NSCDC initially attributed the deaths to a suspected outbreak of diphtheria, a claim that was met with immediate scepticism from survivors and their families. The agency later said the exact cause of death had not been established and that medical and laboratory examinations would determine what happened.

The President’s directive was specific about the scope of the investigation. Tinubu ordered that the probe must cover the circumstances of the arrests, the condition of the detainees when they were taken into custody, the conditions under which they were detained, the number of persons held in the facility, the medical attention provided, and the events leading to their deaths. He also directed the Ministry of Interior and the NSCDC leadership to cooperate fully with all relevant investigative authorities and ensure that no officer interferes with the process or attempts to frustrate the establishment of the truth. “The suspension of officers is only an administrative step and must not substitute for a proper determination of criminal responsibility where the evidence warrants prosecution,” the President said. He extended his condolences to the families of the deceased and appealed for calm among affected families and communities, assuring them that the Federal Government would pursue the truth and take appropriate action based on credible evidence.

The deaths have triggered a swift and multi-layered response from federal and state authorities. The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, ordered the immediate suspension of the Niger State NSCDC Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, and directed a full investigation into the incident. “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. The NSCDC Commandant-General, Ahmed Abubakar, also directed the constitution of a high-powered investigative team led by the Deputy Commandant-General in charge of intelligence and investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident. The Niger State Government constituted its own committee of inquiry, while police in the state launched a parallel investigation.

Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago of Niger State confirmed that 67 miners were crammed into a single cell before 37 of them died, and he disclosed that preliminary forensic findings indicated the presence of foam mixed with bloodstains in the mouths of some victims and peeling skin, raising questions about possible exposure to methane, cyanide, or lead poisoning. “Even at times of war, if you kill 37 people, it is not a small number,” Bago said, calling for expedited autopsies and a thorough examination of the actions of the NSCDC officers who made the arrests. He imposed a 24-hour curfew across Minna after violent protests erupted on Friday, with mobs blocking major streets, attacking a transport depot, vandalising the fleet of the Niger State Transport Authority, attacking a Sterling Bank branch, destroying political party offices, and looting private businesses.

The tragedy has drawn widespread condemnation from political parties, civil society organisations, and human rights groups. The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria called for an independent investigation, arguing that the NSCDC should not be solely responsible for investigating an incident involving its own personnel. “Citizens arrested alive by security agencies should not subsequently die in custody without a prompt, transparent and independent explanation,” HURIWA said, demanding full autopsies, independent toxicological examinations, and compensation of ₦100 million for each deceased victim. The African Democratic Congress demanded an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation, the publication of autopsies and victims’ identities, and the prosecution of every official responsible. “Poverty is not a capital offence,” the party said, adding that the incident “speaks more about the value of a Nigerian life”.

The deaths in Minna are the latest and deadliest incident in a long pattern of custodial deaths in Nigeria, where overcrowding, poor sanitation, and lack of medical care are endemic problems in detention facilities. But this case is particularly egregious because it involves 67 people held in a single cell for over 24 hours, with multiple warnings that they were dying. Survivors have described scenes of panic and desperation as detainees struggled to breathe, banged on the cell door, and begged guards for help that never came. One survivor, Dauda Shehu, told the Associated Press from his hospital bed that 65 detainees were packed into a space with no ventilation. “All of a sudden, we realised that we could not breathe and we started scrambling to get fresh air,” he said.

The question of why the miners were held for so long, and why their cries for help were ignored, strikes at the heart of the accountability crisis in Nigeria’s security agencies. The NSCDC, a paramilitary agency primarily tasked with protecting critical national infrastructure and conducting anti-vandalism operations, has increasingly taken on a role in combating illegal mining. Critics have questioned whether the agency has the training, capacity, or oversight mechanisms to safely detain large numbers of suspects in operations that often take place in remote areas. President Tinubu’s directive that culpable officials must face prosecution is a necessary first step, but it does not answer the broader question of how a situation like this was allowed to happen in the first place. The coming weeks will determine whether the investigations produce accountability or whether the 37 miners who died in NSCDC custody become another statistic in a long list of official failures. For now, Niger State is in mourning, its capital under curfew, and its people waiting for answers that may take weeks or months to emerge.

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