- Tinubu orders full probe, forensic investigation as IGP Disu visits Minna amid protests
By Princely Onyenwe | News Desk
MINNA, NIGER STATE — The Federal Government has suspended the Niger State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, following the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the Corps’ custody in Minna, as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ordered a full and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
The deaths occurred after NSCDC enforcement operations against suspected illegal mining in the M.I. Wushishi/Lukoto axis and surrounding areas of Minna on September 15 and 16, 2026. The suspects were subsequently detained in an NSCDC facility, where 37 were found dead in the early hours of September 17.
The scale and speed of the deaths have triggered public outrage, protests and a widening investigation into what happened to the detainees between their arrest and the discovery of their bodies.
Niger State Governor Umar Bago has disclosed that 67 artisanal and suspected illegal miners were held in an NSCDC cell before 37 of them died, raising serious questions about the capacity and conditions of the detention facility. Authorities are examining the circumstances of the deaths, including the condition of the detainees, the detention environment and the medical attention available to them.
The NSCDC initially said the deaths followed a suspected outbreak of disease. However, the Corps has stressed that the actual cause has not been established and that medical and forensic examinations are required to determine what happened.
Reports from survivors and other accounts have raised allegations of overcrowding and poor ventilation, with some suggesting that detainees struggled to breathe before the deaths. Those accounts have intensified public concern, but they remain allegations pending the outcome of forensic examinations and the official investigation.
The central question now confronting investigators is therefore not simply whether those detained were suspected of illegal mining, but what happened to them after they entered government custody. Investigators are expected to establish the number of people held in the facility, the physical conditions of the cell, the state of the detainees when they were arrested, the medical attention provided and the sequence of events preceding the deaths.
President Tinubu has directed that the investigation cover the circumstances of the arrests, the condition of the detainees on arrival, the conditions under which they were held, the number of people detained, medical attention provided and all events leading to the deaths. He said any official whose action, abuse or negligence is found to have contributed to the deaths should be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law.
The President also stressed that the suspension of officers is only an administrative measure and must not substitute for determining criminal responsibility where the evidence warrants prosecution. He further directed the Ministry of Interior and NSCDC leadership to cooperate fully with the investigation and ensure that no officer interferes with the process.
Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo separately ordered a full-scale investigation and directed the NSCDC leadership to establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths. The Niger State Commandant was ordered to step aside and report to NSCDC headquarters in Abuja to appear before the panel investigating the incident.
The Niger State Government has also constituted a committee of inquiry, while Governor Bago said forensic, medical examinations and autopsies were being conducted to establish the scientific cause of death.
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has now visited Minna and met with Governor Bago over the deaths. Disu described the incident as tragic and said the police would work with the NSCDC and Niger State Government to establish what led to the deaths. He also said death in custody is a serious matter within the responsibility of the police to investigate.
Disu further visited the scenes connected to the incident and appealed for calm, warning residents against taking the law into their hands. His visit comes amid protests in Minna following the deaths, with security agencies deployed to prevent further escalation.
The protests have added another dimension to the crisis, as angry residents and relatives of the deceased demand answers over how 37 people taken into government custody could die within such a short period. Reports indicate that the unrest became violent, prompting the Niger State Government to impose a curfew in Minna.
The tragedy has also revived scrutiny of the Federal Government’s intensified campaign against illegal mining, particularly in mineral-rich communities where artisanal mining remains widespread. The enforcement operation that preceded the deaths was part of the broader effort to dismantle illegal mining activities and apprehend suspected operators.
However, the enforcement campaign does not resolve the questions surrounding the deaths. The fact that 37 detainees died after being taken into government custody, with another 30 reportedly detained in the same facility, makes the condition of custody a central issue for investigators.
Until the forensic examinations, autopsies and investigations are completed, it would be premature to conclusively attribute the deaths to disease, suffocation, poisoning, abuse or deliberate action. Each of those possibilities must be tested against medical evidence, witness accounts, detention records and other available evidence.
What is established is that the detainees were arrested during enforcement operations on September 15 and 16, were held in NSCDC custody in Minna, and 37 were subsequently found dead on September 17. The Federal Government, police, NSCDC and Niger State authorities must now account for what happened during that critical period.
For the families of the deceased, the issue goes beyond the illegal-mining allegations that led to the arrests. Their relatives entered government custody alive and later died there. The investigation must therefore provide a clear account of their treatment, the conditions in which they were detained, the medical response available to them and the precise cause of each death.
As the probe begins, the suspension of the Niger NSCDC commandant, the intervention of the Interior Ministry, the arrival of IGP Disu in Minna and President Tinubu’s directive for a comprehensive investigation have placed the incident firmly at the centre of national scrutiny.
The overriding question remains stark: how did 37 suspected illegal miners die in NSCDC custody in Minna within such a short period, and who, if anyone, bears responsibility? The answer must now come from credible forensic evidence and a transparent investigation rather than competing claims.
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