By Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago has cast doubt on the official arrest figures surrounding the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Minna, questioning why casualties were confined to just one of three holding cells.
Speaking on NTA Network News on Friday, Bago said about 67 people were reportedly arrested and split across three cells, all connected to mining operations in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of the state on September 15 and 16. He pointed out that the first two cells, one holding female detainees and another holding male detainees, recorded no deaths at all. The fatalities occurred entirely within the third and most crowded cell.
That disparity, he argued, raises a basic question about the numbers being reported. If 67 people were genuinely arrested and 37 died in a single overcrowded cell, he said, it becomes necessary to establish exactly how many were held in each of the other two cells before the total can be trusted.
On what may have caused the deaths, Bago named two working theories still under review, suffocation caused by overcrowding, or poisoning linked to hazardous exposure at the mining site itself, possibly involving lead or radiation. He was careful to note that neither cause had been confirmed. He also described physical signs on some of the bodies, including burn like skin changes, foam at the mouth, and blood near the nose and mouth, that investigators are treating as significant.
According to the governor, the Ministry of Mines, the police and the Department of State Services have deployed teams to investigate, with medical examinations and biopsies currently in progress. Preliminary findings are expected within five to ten days.
Bago confirmed that the NSCDC state commandant and other officials tied to the case have been suspended to allow the investigation to proceed without interference. Niger State has separately set up its own committee of inquiry, chaired by the deputy governor and made up of service chiefs across the state.
He also raised concerns about the lack of coordination between federal agencies and the state government, noting that Niger State was not informed of the arrests when they happened and only learned of the situation after deaths were already being reported. He called for clearer information sharing going forward, along with enforced limits on how many detainees can be held in a single cell across all security agencies, not just the NSCDC.
Punch had earlier reported that a survivor described roughly 65 suspected miners packed into one cell, struggling to breathe in the cramped conditions. A separate survivor account, also carried by Punch, alleged that a perfume like substance was sprayed inside the cell shortly before detainees began collapsing. Both claims remain unverified and form part of the broader investigation.
The Federal Government has ordered a formal probe into the deaths, with the police and other agencies working alongside state investigators to establish what happened.
