Nigeria has suspended the NSCDC commandant of Niger State “pending investigations” after 37 people suspected of being illegal miners died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, a federal paramilitary agency in Nigeria.
Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo ordered the “immediate suspension” of Niger State’s NSCDC commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, pending the outcome of a full investigation after 37 people suspected of being illegal miners died while in detention on Thursday morning.
“It is an unfortunate incident; however, a full investigation will be conducted while the commandant under whose watch this happened remains suspended,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
Residents of the city in central Nigeria took to the streets to protest overnight after 37 detainees were found dead in the custody of a paramilitary force that had raided suspected illegal gold mines.
Investigations launched
By Friday morning, the city was calm, but security forces had been heavily deployed across parts of the state capital, Minna.
Reuters filmed 33 bodies in a ward at the General Hospital in Minna on Thursday, after they were found dead in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps. State authorities said on Friday 37 detainees had died.
The NSCDC said the detainees had been held in raids on suspected illegal mines on September 15 to 16 in the Wushishi-Lukoto area west of Minna. It initially said a suspected disease outbreak may have been involved in their deaths, but later said the cause of death had not been established and would be determined by medical examinations.
Nigeria has tried for years to curb unauthorised mining at thousands of informal sites that operate across the country. The authorities say illegal mining damages the environment and leads to losses of government revenue
