Nigeria: Protests erupt over deaths of 37 miners in custody

Protests erupted in central Nigeria on Friday after 37 people believed to be illegal miners died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC).

Police fired tear gas as dozens of demonstrators, including miners and their relatives, gathered in the central city of Minna, Niger State, armed with sticks and machetes, witnesses reported. 

Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago told reporters on Thursday that the men had died in custody after being arrested earlier in the week on suspicion of illegal mining. 

He called the incident "sad" and "tragic," adding that a committee of inquiry into the deaths had been established and was already working. The governor declared three days of mourning and postponed the start of campaigning for the January elections.

The Nigerian government announced on Friday that the commandant of Niger state's civil defense corps had been suspended. 

"It is an unfortunate incident, however, a full investigation will be conducted while the commandant under whose watch this happened remains suspended," the Minister of Interior said in a statement.

What do we know about the incident?

The suspected miners were detained in a series of arrests on Tuesday and Wednesday, said Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, head of the NSCDC in Niger, in a statement on Thursday.

Aniviye said that although the agency suspects the detainees died of disease, their bodies were sent to a local hospital for a medical examination to determine the cause of death. He did not specify the type of disease.

However, according to an intelligence report, "preliminary information suggests the fatalities may have resulted from overcrowding and inadequate ventilation within a detention facility."

A 40-second video shared online showed the bodies of dozens of young men, most of whom appeared to be teenagers. Volunteers wearing gloves stood over the bodies, while veiled women tried to identify their relatives.

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Survivors describe a lack of ventilation

Dauda Shehu, one of the survivors, told the Associated Press that 65 detainees were packed into a poorly ventilated cell. "We were jampacked and there was no ventilation for us to breathe well," he said.

"All of a sudden, we realized that we could not breathe and we started scrambling to get fresh air," Shehu added. The detainees tried to get the guards' attention by banging on the cell door, he explained.

Spanning more than twice the area of Belgium, Niger State is rich in minerals and attracts thousands of artisanal miners, most of whom are lured by the hope of striking gold.

According to officials and experts, the scramble for gold reserves dug up in illegal mines in Niger State is also fueling violence by criminal gangs known locally as bandits. These gangs tax miners and demand a cut of the extracted ore in exchange for access to the pits.

Edited by: Sean Sinico and Natalie Muller

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