37 Nigerian Mining Suspects Die in Custody as Probe Targets Suffocation Claims
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Sep 18
37 Nigerian Mining Suspects Die in Custody as Probe Targets Suffocation Claims
2 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Sep 18
Summary
Thirty-seven detainees arrested in an anti-illegal mining sweep were found dead on Thursday in an NSCDC detention centre in Niger state, two days after their arrest near Borgu.
More than 50 suspects had been rounded up, and relatives, a survivor account and an intelligence report pointed to overcrowding, heat and poor ventilation in the cell rather than a confirmed disease outbreak.
Niger state governor Mohammed Umaru Bago called the deaths tragic, said an NSCDC commander had been detained, declared three days of mourning and delayed campaigning for January elections.
Police ordered an immediate investigation, bodies were taken to a Minna hospital for post-mortems, and the NSCDC said any claim that diphtheria caused the deaths still requires medical and laboratory confirmation.
The case has intensified scrutiny of detentions tied to Niger state's illegal gold mining trade, where suspects may not yet have been charged despite constitutional limits on how long they can be held.