By our reporter 18.9.2026
Police clashed with protesters Friday in Minna, Niger State over the death of 37 miners detained by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC).
The miners were discovered dead on Thursday after they were picked up two days earlier. NSCDC officials blamed the deaths on a strange dieseas, but according to findings they might have suffocated due to overcrowding of the cell with little ventilation.
According to one of the survivors, Dauda Shehu, 65 miners were locked up in the poorly ventilated cell: “We were jampacked and there was no ventilation for us to breathe well. All of a sudden, we realized that we could not breathe and we started scrambling to get fresh air.”
He added that the detainees started banging on the cell door to get the attention of the NSCDC officials.
Nigeria’s minister of interior Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo said in a statement that investigations are underway and the Niger State commandant of the NSCDC and heads of Operations, Mining, Legal, Intelligence and Investigation must report to Abuja to explain what has happened and they remain suspended while investigations are on.
“It is an unfortunate incident, however, a full investigation will be conducted while the commandant under whose watch this happened remains suspended,” said Dr. Tunji Ojo.
Protesters storm NSCDC centre in Minna to protest death of miners.
Photo: Reuters.