LAGOS: Nigeria police have launched an investigation into the deaths of “scores” of suspected illegal miners while in the custody of the country’s civil defense in a central state, the force said Thursday.
The deaths were confirmed by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), which partners with the Nigerian police to protect lives, critical national assets and infrastructure.
Niger state officials confirmed a death toll of 37 people while in the custody of the country’s civil defense.
“This morning we woke up to the news that about 37 persons died in the custody of the civil defense here in Minna,” Niger state Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago told reporters at a news conference in the state capital broadcast by Nigeria’s TVC News television.
Niger state — which is more than twice the size of Belgium — is rich in minerals and attracts thousands of artisanal miners, most of them lured by gold.
After “scores of persons arrested as illegal miners were found dead while in custody,” the police chief in the central state of Niger “has ordered the immediate commencement of investigation into the unfortunate death of suspected illegal miners while in the detention facility of the NSCDC,” police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun said in a statement.
While neither the police nor the civil defense gave a precise number of deaths, which happened early on Thursday, local media reported a toll of 33.
A 40-second video shared online showed bodies of dozens of young men clad only in shorts, most of whom appeared to be teenagers, sprawling on the ground out in the open.
Volunteers wearing gloves are seen standing over them, while veiled women try to identify the bodies of their relatives. Voices shouting curses on those responsible can be heard in the background.
‘Overcrowding and inadequate ventilation’
An intelligence report seen by AFP said “preliminary information suggests the fatalities may have resulted from overcrowding and inadequate ventilation within a detention facility.”
Civil defense said it had rounded up “scores of suspected illegal miners” on Tuesday and Wednesday,
“However, in the early hours of 17th September, 2026, scores of the detained suspects were found dead, following a suspected outbreak of disease.”
The mass deaths reportedly triggered protests by “groups of miners and sympathizers” in the Niger state capital Minna, where cars and other properties were damaged, according to the intelligence report.
The scramble for gold reserves dug up in illegal mines in Niger state is also fueling violence by criminal gangs, known locally as bandits, according to officials and experts.
The gangs tax the miners and demand a cut from the extracted ore as a levy to allow them access to the pits.
Most of the illegally mined gold is smuggled out to the United Arab Emirates, from where it is laundered into the global supply chain in Europe, the United States, Asia and South Africa, according to a 2024 SwissAid report.
Apart from gold, Niger State sits on deposits of other minerals including tantalite, copper and lithium, in strong demand for use in electric vehicles and clean energy technology.
