Thirty-seven people suspected of illegal mining have died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State, central Nigeria, triggering protests and an investigation into the cause of the deaths.
The men were detained during a series of arrests on Tuesday and Wednesday. Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago said they died in custody after being arrested earlier in the week on suspicion of illegal mining.
Police fired tear gas on Friday as dozens of demonstrators, including miners and relatives of miners, gathered in Minna, the state capital. The protesters were armed with sticks and machetes.
The deaths have placed detention conditions at the centre of the inquiry. Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, the head of the NSCDC in Niger, said the agency suspected that disease had caused the deaths. An intelligence report, however, said preliminary information pointed to overcrowding and inadequate ventilation within a detention facility.
The official cause remains undetermined. The bodies were sent to a local hospital for medical examination, which is intended to establish how the detainees died. Authorities have not stated the specific charges or legal basis for the arrests, whether the detentions were lawful, or how conditions in custody developed before the fatalities.
A 40-second video shared online showed the bodies of dozens of young men. Most appeared to be teenagers, though their exact ages have not been confirmed.
The Nigerian government announced on Friday that it had suspended the commandant of Niger state's civil defense corps. It also said a committee of inquiry had been established, while a separate investigation into the deaths in custody was under way.
The Minister of Interior said: “It is an unfortunate incident, however, a full investigation will be conducted while the commandant under whose watch this happened remains suspended”
Governor Bago declared three days of mourning and postponed the start of campaigning for the January elections. The measures underline the scale of the incident in a state where the deaths occurred after a policing operation directed at suspected illegal mining.
The inquiry will have to assess the conflicting accounts offered so far, including the NSCDC's suspicion of disease and the intelligence report's reference to overcrowding and poor ventilation. It has yet to determine whether officials will face criminal charges or what action may follow against those responsible for the detention facility.
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