On September 17 (local time), Nigerian authorities discovered that more than 30 illegal gold miners had died unexpectedly while being detained at a detention facility of the Nigerian Civil Defense and Security Corps (NSCDC) in Minna city, Niger state. As of September 19, the announced death toll has reached 37 people.
Niger State Police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun said the State Criminal Investigation Agency immediately took over the case to clarify all details of the incident, and transferred the victims' bodies to a medical facility for autopsy.
The NSCDC said that the group of suspects was arrested in separate raids in the Wushishi - Lukoto area on September 15 and 16 to crack down on illegal mining, and initially hypothesized that the cause of death may be due to an outbreak of the epidemic.
However, the survivors of the tragedy recounted their extreme panic as they struggled every breath of air to maintain life inside the cell.
Mr. Dauda Shehu, a lucky survivor, currently being treated at the hospital, said the suspects were crammed in a space completely without vents.
We begged the warden many times, knocked on the prison cell door, but they refused to answer us," said Mr. Dauda Shehu.
Another survivor recounted that the warden locked the door and sprayed a chemical into the room, causing their throats and eyes to sting, leading to a hoarse cough and mass collapses due to suffocation and thirst.
The incident sparked a wave of violent protests in Minna, forcing police to open fire to suppress and authorities to impose a night curfew.
Under public pressure, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu ordered the suspension of the position of commander of the civil defense forces involved, and at the same time requested an urgent and transparent investigation and emphasized that the government resolutely does not tolerate carelessness and irresponsibility that take away human lives.
