A Nigerian government investigation has found that 37 suspected illegal miners reportedly died from suffocation while being held in security custody, blaming overcrowding, poor ventilation and negligence for the preventable deaths.
The independent investigative panel, chaired by former intelligence official Jonathan Kure, presented its findings to Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to the committee, detainees were confined in severely overcrowded and poorly ventilated cells, where extreme heat, dehydration and inadequate supervision contributed to the fatalities.
Fourteen of those who died were minors, the panel said.
Investigators also found that detention officers had failed to respond adequately to warnings from prisoners about deteriorating conditions. The findings rejected earlier suggestions by security officials that an unidentified disease outbreak had caused the deaths.
The panel recommended compensation of 1.4 billion naira, approximately $1 million, for victims’ families and survivors.
It also called for the dismissal of the Niger State commander of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), along with other officers found responsible for the detention conditions.
The committee recommended broader institutional reforms to strengthen accountability, improve detention standards and prevent similar incidents.
Tunji-Ojo pledged to implement the recommendations and ordered the suspension of additional officers accused of cleaning the detention facility in an alleged attempt to destroy evidence.
The incident occurred on September 17 at an NSCDC detention centre in Minna, the capital of Niger State.
The detainees had been arrested during security operations targeting suspected illegal mining activities in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas.
The deaths prompted widespread public concern and demands for accountability, leading President Bola Tinubu to order a comprehensive investigation.
The government subsequently suspended several security officials pending the inquiry.
The findings have renewed scrutiny of detention conditions and the treatment of suspects held by Nigerian security agencies.
