33 illegal mining suspects die in NSCDC custody in Niger state

At least 33 suspects arrested over alleged illegal mining have died in the custody of Nigerian security personnel in Niger state, with officials saying a suspected disease outbreak may have caused the deaths. A survivor, however, told The Associated Press that the detainees were crammed into a poorly ventilated cell and may have suffocated.

The detainees were being held by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) after arrests were carried out on Tuesday and Wednesday. The incident has now triggered an investigation, even as relatives of the victims seek answers.

NSCDC spokesman Abubakar Muti told AP that the detainees died in the agency's custody in north-central Niger state. In a statement on Thursday, the head of the NSCDC in Niger, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, said the suspects had been detained after the arrests over suspected illegal mining. He said the agency suspects a disease, but added that the bodies had been sent to a local hospital for "further medical examination to establish the actual cause of death".

Dauda Shehu, who survived the incident, gave a different account. "We were jampacked and there was no ventilation for us to breathe well," he said. "All of a sudden, we realised that we could not breathe and we started scrambling to get fresh air." Speaking to AP at Minna General Hospital, where the bodies were sent for examination, Shehu said the detainees tried to get the guards' attention by banging on the cell door.

Among those at the hospital was Shafatu Sulaiman, who lost her two sons in the incident and appealed to the government to intervene. Police in Niger state said they had launched an investigation and urged relatives of the victims to come forward with any information that could help.

Illegal mining remains a challenge in Nigeria. Analysts have linked such activity in the country's north-central and northwestern regions to armed gangs involved in kidnappings for ransom, saying the groups receive funding from the illicit trade. The deaths of the 33 detainees are now under investigation, with the cause yet to be established.