Nigeria Sets Up Probe Panel After 37 Miners Die in NSCDC Custody
A 10-member panel will determine responsibility and possible negligence after survivors alleged overcrowding, poor ventilation and mistreatment in the detention cell.
- On Thursday, 37 suspected illegal miners died in a crowded cell at an NSCDC detention facility in Minna, Niger state; President Bola Tinubu ordered a full investigation, leading to the suspension of 20 officers pending the probe's conclusion.
- Survivors described being jam-packed into a poorly ventilated cell, contradicting initial NSCDC claims that a disease outbreak caused the deaths; detainees reported banging on doors for air while their pleas were ignored.
- Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo constituted a 10-member independent committee with two weeks to determine responsibility, complicity, and misconduct; he warned that obstruction of the probe will be treated as a serious offense.
- Protests erupted in Minna on Friday as crowds vandalized property, prompting authorities to impose a dusk-to-dawn curfew; Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar demanded accountability, warning against using junior officers as "sacrificial lambs."
- Governor Mohammed Bago suspended all mining activities across Niger state and ordered forensic examinations and autopsies to establish the cause of deaths, addressing broader concerns regarding detention standards and regulator accountability.
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87 Articles
Families of 37 young men detained in Nigeria staged fierce protests following their deaths. The Nigerian government formed an investigative commission to uncover the truth. According to reports from the Associated Press and others on the 20th, the Nigerian Home Ministry has appointed legal, mining, and medical professionals to investigate the deaths.
37 suspected illegal miners die in custody in Niger state
Thirty-seven people arrested on Tuesday for suspected illegal mining near Borgu in Nigeria's Niger state died two days later inside a detention facility run by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, according to officials. NSCDC spokesperson...
Associated Press News
Families of suspected illegal miners who died in Nigerian detention accuse officials of mistreatment
Lawan Mohammed is distraught over the death of his 25-year-old son Sulieman who was found dead in the custody of a Nigerian security agency.
Miners' deaths: NSCDC replaces suspended Niger Commandant
A new Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Abdulhamid Salisu Kabara, has been deployed to the Niger State Command In a statement on Saturday, Public Relations Officer of the Command, DSC Abubakar Rabiu Muti, said Kabara had taken over the leadership of the Command from Commandant Suberu Siyaka Aniviye who is under suspension over the death of 37 artisanal miners in the custody of the Command. Muti said Kabara assum…
Radio France Internationale
allAfricaNigeria names panel to probe deaths of 37 miners held in detention
Nigeria's government has appointed a 10-member independent panel to investigate the deaths of 37 people while they were held in custody for illegal mining in north-central Nigeria.
Nigeria president orders prosecution over illegal miners' deaths
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has ordered the prosecution of any officials found culpable in the deaths of dozens of suspected illegal miners while in the custody of a security agency in the country's central Niger State.
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