Nigeria Suspends NSCDC Commandant After 37 Miners Die in Custody

The Nigerian Federal Government has suspended the Niger State commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and ordered a full investigation following the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in custody. Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo suspended Suberu Siyaka Aniviye and directed the NSCDC Commandant-General to conduct a transparent probe into the incident. The detainees were arrested during enforcement operations on September 15 and 16 at suspected illegal mining sites in the Wushishi-Lukoto area of Niger State. They were taken to an NSCDC detention facility in Minna, where 37 individuals were later reported dead. The NSCDC initially linked the deaths to a suspected disease outbreak but later clarified that the actual cause had not been established and would be determined through medical examination. Survivors of the incident, who were invited by the State Security Service to provide information, alleged that dozens of detainees were packed into an overcrowded and poorly ventilated cell, raising suspicions that the victims may have died from suffocation. These allegations triggered widespread protests and demands for accountability.