37 suspected miners suffocated in NSCDC custody, FG panel finds

An independent Federal Government panel has found that 37 suspected illegal miners who died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State succumbed to suffocation.

The panel’s chairman and former Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services, Jonathan Kure, disclosed this on Tuesday while submitting the committee’s report to the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, in Abuja.

The deaths occurred on September 17, 2026, while the suspects were being held by the NSCDC Niger State Command in Minna.

The deceased were among suspects arrested during security operations targeting alleged illegal mining activities in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of the state.

The incident prompted the Federal Government to constitute an independent investigative committee to establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths and determine their cause.

The panel identified asphyxiation — a condition in which the body is deprived of sufficient oxygen — as the cause of death. However, details of its findings and recommendations were not immediately available after the report was submitted.

Illegal mining has remained a security and economic concern in parts of Nigeria, with unauthorised extraction of mineral resources raising issues relating to public safety, environmental damage and the loss of government revenue.

Security agencies, including the NSCDC, are involved in efforts to tackle illegal mining and related offences.
However, the deaths of suspects in custody raise questions about detainee welfare, custodial conditions and the responsibility of security agencies to safeguard people in their care.

The Federal Government’s decision to establish an independent panel followed the deaths of the 37 detainees.
The panel’s findings are expected to help clarify the circumstances of the incident and inform any further action considered necessary by the authorities.

The finding that the victims died from suffocation does not, on its own, establish how the condition arose or whether any individual or agency was culpable.
Those questions would depend on the full report and any subsequent investigation or proceedings.

Further details of the panel’s findings and recommendations are expected to emerge as the government considers the report.