FG orders full probe into 37 suspected miners’ deaths in NSCDC custody as Niger officers step aside and medical and police investigations continue

Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Friday, 18 September 2026, ordered a full-scale, transparent and unhindered investigation in Minna, Niger State, into the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, while NSCDC Commandant General Prof Ahmed Abubakar Audi directed the Niger State Commandant and five senior departmental heads to step aside and report to the Corps’ National Headquarters in Abuja.

Also read: NSCDC Orders Probe Into 37 Miners’ Deaths in Niger

The directive is the latest and most significant official response to the deaths, which occurred after NSCDC operations against suspected illegal mining around the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State on 15 and 16 September.

The NSCDC Niger State Command had said scores of suspected illegal miners were arrested during the operations and that the detainees were later found dead in the early hours of 17 September.

The state command initially attributed the deaths to a suspected disease outbreak, but did not identify the illness.

Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago subsequently said 37 people had died in NSCDC custody. He described the incident as “sad” and “tragic”, announced three days of mourning and postponed the planned commencement of political campaigning in the state.

The Federal Government’s latest intervention now places the conduct of the detention operation and the chain of command under formal scrutiny.

Tunji-Ojo directed that the investigation be conducted without interference, with the aim of establishing the circumstances surrounding the deaths and determining whether any breaches of procedure occurred.

“It is an unfortunate incident, however, a full investigation will be conducted while the commandant under whose watch this happened remains suspended,” the minister said, according to a statement released by his media office.

Following the minister’s directive, Audi ordered Niger State Commandant Suberu Siyaka Aniviye to step aside with immediate effect and report to the NSCDC National Headquarters in Abuja.

The heads of Operations, Mining, Legal, Intelligence and Investigation in the Niger State Command have also been directed to report to Abuja to appear before the panel of inquiry.

Audi has also deployed a new commandant to Niger State to take charge of the command while the investigation proceeds.

The arrangement is intended to maintain operational continuity while separating the existing leadership from the inquiry into an incident that occurred under its watch.

Audi assured the Interior Minister that the investigation would be comprehensive, transparent and impartial.

He said personnel found to have violated the law, operational procedures or professional standards would face appropriate administrative or disciplinary action and, where warranted, criminal proceedings.

The investigation comes as questions remain over what happened to the detainees between their arrest and the discovery of their bodies.

The NSCDC has said medical examinations are necessary to establish the actual cause of death.

The bodies were deposited at the General Hospital, Minna, for examination, with the Corps warning against treating unverified claims about a specific disease as established fact.

AFP reported that an intelligence report cited overcrowding and poor ventilation as possible factors, while survivor Dauda Shehu alleged that detainees were held in an overcrowded, poorly ventilated cell and that some struggled for air.

Those accounts have not been established as the cause of death and remain matters for investigators and medical experts to examine.

The distinction is important. At this stage, neither a disease outbreak nor conditions inside the detention facility can be presented as the confirmed cause of the deaths.

The Niger State Police Command has also begun its own investigation. Police Commissioner Adamu Abdullahi Elleman directed the State Criminal Investigation Department in Minna to establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths and appealed for credible information from relatives and members of the public.

The deaths followed an intensified campaign against illegal mining in Niger State. The NSCDC has been conducting operations around mining locations as part of its mandate to protect mineral resources and other critical national assets.

The M.I. Wushishi axis had already featured prominently in the state command’s enforcement activities. In June, the NSCDC reported arrests around the area during an operation targeting suspected illegal mining and mineral trading.

The enforcement campaign has also carried risks for security personnel. In July, an NSCDC operative was killed during a confrontation with suspected illegal miners in Korokpa Village, Niger State, according to the state command.

That history provides important context for the latest operation, but it does not resolve the questions surrounding the deaths in custody.

The central issue now is whether the detainees received appropriate care and whether the conditions under which they were held complied with applicable procedures and basic obligations towards people in custody.

The NSCDC has reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the dignity, safety and fundamental rights of people in its custody while continuing its statutory fight against illegal mining.

For the families of the deceased, the official investigations carry a more immediate significance.

Beyond determining the medical cause of death, they are expected to establish how the detainees were arrested, how long they remained in custody, what conditions they experienced and what medical attention was available to them.

Those questions are now before the investigative panel, the police and medical authorities.

The outcome could determine whether the deaths were linked to illness, detention conditions, failures in supervision or a combination of factors.

It could also establish whether individual officers or wider institutional procedures require further action.

Until the medical examinations and investigations are concluded, the precise cause of the deaths remains unresolved.

What is clear is that the incident has moved beyond a local NSCDC matter.

Also read: NSCDC Orders Probe Into 37 Miners’ Deaths in Niger

With the Interior Ministry directing a full investigation, senior Niger Command officers stepping aside and separate medical and police inquiries under way, the circumstances surrounding the 37 deaths are now subject to scrutiny at several levels.