Thirty-seven people suspected of illegal mining died while in the custody of Nigeria’s civil defence corps, the governor of the central state of Niger said, prompting an investigation and three days of mourning.
Police opened an inquiry into the deaths, after the civil defence corps attributed them to disease. An intelligence report, however, indicated that overcrowding and inadequate ventilation may have been responsible.
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Niger state, an expansive mineral-rich region more than twice the size of Belgium, draws thousands of artisanal miners, many driven by the hope of finding gold.
“This morning we woke up to the news that about 37 persons died in the custody of the civil defence here in Minna,” Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago told reporters at a news conference in the state capital, in comments broadcast by Nigeria’s TVC News television.
Bago declared three days of mourning and postponed the launch of campaigning for elections scheduled for January.
The deaths reportedly sparked protests in Minna by “groups of miners and sympathisers,” during which cars and other property were damaged, according to the intelligence report seen by AFP.
The victims had been held by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), an agency that works alongside the police to protect lives, critical national assets and infrastructure.
A 40-second video circulated online showed the bodies of dozens of young men, many apparently teenagers, lying outdoors and dressed only in shorts.
Volunteers wearing gloves stood over the bodies as veiled women attempted to identify relatives among the dead.
Shouts and curses directed at those believed responsible could be heard in the background.
‘Overcrowding and inadequate ventilation’
Niger state’s police commissioner ordered an immediate 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.
The civil defence corps said it had arrested “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,” it said.
The intelligence report offered a different preliminary account, saying the fatalities “may have resulted from overcrowding and inadequate ventilation within a detention facility.”
Competition over gold extracted from illegal mines in Niger state has also helped fuel violence by criminal gangs known locally as bandits, officials and experts say.
The gangs impose taxes on miners and demand a share of the ore produced in return for allowing access to the mining pits.
According to a 2024 SwissAid report, much of the illegally mined gold is smuggled to the United Arab Emirates before being laundered into global supply chains serving Europe, the United States, Asia and South Africa.
Niger State also holds deposits of other sought-after minerals, including tantalite, copper and lithium, which are in strong demand for electric vehicles and clean-energy technologies.
