Federal panel reports fatal asphyxiation among detained miners

A Federal Government investigative panel has reported that miners who died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State suffered fatal asphyxiation, but the accounts of the panel’s findings conflict over the death toll and medical cause. Panel chairman Jonathan Kure presented the committee’s report to Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo in Abuja on Tuesday. Two reports of the presentation say the panel found that 37 detainees died from asphyxiation. A third account, also attributed to Kure, says 33 deaths were confirmed and describes dehydration and acute respiratory failure. The supplied accounts do not resolve the differences, so the final toll and cause cannot be stated as settled. The deaths occurred at an NSCDC detention facility in Minna after suspected illegal miners were arrested during operations in Niger State. The arrests took place on September 15 and 16, and the deaths were reported on September 17, 2026. The detainees had been held following enforcement activity in areas around Minna. Kure said the committee inspected the detention facility, conducted autopsies, interviewed witnesses and collected documentary and forensic...