37 suspected illegal miners die in custody in Northwestern Nigeria

Thirty-seven suspected illegal miners have died in an NSCDC detention facility in Nigeria's Niger state, sparking a police investigation amid conflicting claims of a disease outbreak versus severe overcrowding.

Thirty-seven (37) people accused of illegal mining in northwestern Nigeria have died in custody, local officials said.

Police have set up an investigation into the deaths, which the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) blamed on an apparent disease outbreak.

However, an intelligence report shared with the AFP news agency suggested the group died because of overcrowding and poor ventilation inside the detention facility in the Nigerian state of Niger.

State governor Mohammed Umaru Bago called the deaths “sad and tragic” during a press conference on Thursday.

A n NSCDC commander has been detained following the deaths, Bago also said.

He declared three days of mourning and postponed the start of campaigning for elections scheduled for January.

Officials had arrested the group of young men on Tuesday for suspected illegal mining near Borgu, in the mineral-rich state of Niger. The region is known for small-scale gold mining.

Two days later, 37 people detained as part of the suspected unlawful operation were found dead inside the detention centre run by the NSCDC.

The NSCDC said the detainees were possibly victims of a diphtheria outbreak, a serious bacterial infection that can be fatal.

But relatives of the deceased have disputed the official explanation of events, claiming they were deliberately killed.

Niger’s police chief ordered an immediate investigation into “the unfortunate death of suspected illegal miners while in the detention facility of the NSCDC”, spokesman Wasiu Abiodun wrote in a statement.

The victim’s bodies have since been taken to the general hospital in nearby Minna for examination.

The scramble for gold reserves dug up in illegal mines in Niger State has been blamed for fuelling criminal gang violence, according to officials and experts.

Much of the gold in the region is trafficked through global supply chains, a 2024 SwissAid report found.