₦airaland Forum

Ilegal Miners: FG Orders Immediate Suspension Of Commandant,

Casualty of alleged illegal miners in Niger state: FG orders immediate suspension of Commandant, orders full investigation

The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has ordered the immediate suspension of the Niger State commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Suberu Siyaka Aniviye.

The suspension follows the alleged deaths of suspected illegal miners in M.I. Wushishi/ Lukoto axis of Minna the state capital.

The incident which reportedly occurred in the early hours of Thursday followed the arrest of the suspected illegal miners during enforcement operations conducted in parts of Niger State on September 15 and 16, 2026.

“It is an unfortunate incident, however, a full investigation will be conducted while the commandant under whose watch this happened remains suspended.

“We run a government whose ultimate priority is security of lives and we have worked to stay true to this,” the Minister declared.

He urged members of the public to maintain calm and remain law-abiding to allow for a transparent investigation process.

He further commiserates with Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago of Niger State and the families and relatives of the deceased.

Signed:
Alao Babatunde
Special Adviser to the Honourable Minister of Interior on Media and Publicity

September 18, 2026

Source

VIDEO: Niger gov confirms death of 37 'illegal' miners in NSCDC custody, says commander suspended

🎮: @Nupenchii_ pic.twitter.com/DmXAaCPy8H

— TheCable (@thecableng) September 17, 2026

https://x.com/sir_Abdulkadir/status/2100703627673256169

Alake knows these Chinese have taking over illegal mining in Nigeria. How can disease killed only 38 miners, no NCSDC. The commandant should be in Kuje by now. Why is Olubunmi Ojo, wasting tax payers money.

Even Zamfara that's notorious for illegal gold mining isn't known for this..

That's good ..if they will truly unravel what really happened.

Because something is definitely not right . You arrested all of them , took them to your station . And all of them died just like that .

Eliminate all witnesses

They're are not suppose to d!e.
They're suppose to live and get support while doing illegal mining hence he was suspended.

Someone should take responsibility of the incident immediately. I hope it doesn't ends at suspending the commandant

Upon making thousands of dollars for their employer, the miners looked malnourished. Things dey happen for Naija. Just imagine!

A country of particular concern.

What could have been responsible for their death? Were they poisoned to cover up some tracks? Full investigation should be done to unravel the cause of their death and culprits should be made to face the law

Illegal mining has its consequences. Hitting deep where raw minerals in their gaseous form could be the culprit.


Update!

Apologies!

Apparently, I rushed to comment without reading thoroughly.

It should be thoroughly investigated.

Vote seeking. Who did Tinubu suspend when 30 children and teachers were kidnapped, and one teacher beheaded, in Osun state four months ago?

If the Commander in Chief is active, the kidnaps and killings would have been preempted.

Awaiting a post mortem but it is very strange for a biological disease to kill this many this quickly without triggering an emergency but I know of several poisons associated with mining activities such as cyanide, mercury and arsenic that can cause this toll this fast.

Illegal mining has its consequences. Hitting deep where raw minerals in their gaseous form could be the culprit. Investigation and due diligence is needed.

Hope it won't lead to another anger and burning of properties?. It's better to suspend the guy cos if dem catch am, na death sentence be that. They will likely redeploy him later to the south. Besides, hope it's not poisonous gases they intoxicated because I doubt it if all were beaten to death. How come only them died and non of the officers were involved? Or someone poisoned them to cover for something?

Nigeria is a crime scene.

Killing and wasting of human lives has been normalised.

Nwaiyoo:
Upon making thousands of dollars for their employer, the miners looked malnourished. Things dey happen for Naija. Just imagine!

They were just laborers. And they know what they signed for is not legal .

Illegal miners should be treated like illegal oil thieves. There are soldiers manning every segment of some strategic oil pipe lines in the east,.with orders to shoot and kill if anyone trespasses. Monitoring, arrests and punishments of illegal solid minerals thieves should never be relaxed because of events like this. Rather, measures to arrest more culprits should be intensified..

To start with, they are not supposed to be doing what they were caught doing. They were caught sabotaging the economy. Essentially, they're no saints! If the government should improve procedures as to how arrests are done in order to avoid deaths, that should happen. But this event should never be allowed to be another propaganda tool in the hands of those who stubbornly steal from the state, while contributing zilch to national growth.

The NSCDC man should be recalled if he didn't do anything wrong..

Thank you all

They were obviously poisoned

A killer government still killing its own citizens.

Possible Asphyxiation!

I guess they were locked up in a very tight space.

wicked people full this country!

The death of over 30 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the NSCDC is not merely an illegal-mining story; it is fundamentally a story about accountability, duty of care and the value of human life. Whatever offences these men may have been suspected of committing, once they were arrested and placed in state custody, the responsibility for their safety shifted to the authorities. Their deaths therefore demand more than an administrative suspension.
The suspension of the Niger State Commandant is a necessary step to facilitate an impartial investigation, but it must not become the end of accountability. The investigation should establish exactly what happened—from the moment of arrest, through transportation and detention, to the circumstances of their deaths. If negligence, overcrowding, denial of medical attention, abuse or any other unlawful conduct is established, individual responsibility should follow.
At the same time, the incident should not be used to undermine legitimate efforts to combat illegal mining. Nigeria needs firm enforcement of its mining laws, but enforcement must operate within the law and respect human dignity. A state that arrests people for an alleged crime cannot allow them to die in its custody without a clear and credible explanation.”
One particularly important point is that the cause of death has not yet been conclusively established. The Niger command initially referred to a suspected disease outbreak, but NSCDC headquarters cautioned that this had not been medically confirmed. That is why the promised forensic examinations and autopsies are important. �
Punch +1
Given your own NSCDC background, I would also distinguish institutional responsibility from individual guilt: the suspension does not by itself establish that the commandant personally caused the deaths. It creates room for an investigation without the officer remaining in operational command while the facts are being established.


Nigerians deserve better

It is simply impossible that 38 young and healthy men could ALL die simultaneously from "sickness". They died of poisoning in one form or another, either deliberately applied to them or by accident on the part of those who detained them.

If those men were all kept in a cell near where a generator was running indoors, they could all have died of carbon monoxide poisoning. If they were fed tainted food in their cell, either deliberately or by mistake, that too could result in a sudden death of them all.

So strange, investigate the cause

I suspect they died of suffocation in an overcrowded cell.

They brought in mining to congo and released Ebola strain

Now they are in Nigeria

The death of over 30 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the NSCDC is not merely an illegal-mining story; it is fundamentally a story about accountability, duty of care and the value of human life. Whatever offences these men may have been suspected of committing, once they were arrested and placed in state custody, the responsibility for their safety shifted to the authorities. Their deaths therefore demand more than an administrative suspension.
The suspension of the Niger State Commandant is a necessary step to facilitate an impartial investigation, but it must not become the end of accountability. The investigation should establish exactly what happened—from the moment of arrest, through transportation and detention, to the circumstances of their deaths. If negligence, overcrowding, denial of medical attention, abuse or any other unlawful conduct is established, individual responsibility should follow.
At the same time, the incident should not be used to undermine legitimate efforts to combat illegal mining. Nigeria needs firm enforcement of its mining laws, but enforcement must operate within the law and respect human dignity. A state that arrests people for an alleged crime cannot allow them to die in its custody without a clear and credible explanation.”
One particularly important point is that the cause of death has not yet been conclusively established. The Niger command initially referred to a suspected disease outbreak, but NSCDC headquarters cautioned that this had not been medically confirmed. That is why the promised forensic examinations and autopsies are important. �
Punch +1
Given your own NSCDC background, I would also distinguish institutional responsibility from individual guilt: the suspension does not by itself establish that the commandant personally caused the deaths. It creates room for an investigation without the officer remaining in operational command while the facts are being established.

Oblongata:
Illegal mining has its consequences. Hitting deep where raw minerals in their gaseous form could be the culprit.

Gases will more likely kill them on the spot, not in custody or present them with clear enough symptoms to trigger an emergency.

I suspect chemical poisoning particularly if they were detained on site and not given the opportunity of sanitizing their bodies. The carcasses look like they were on the day of detention.

Security establishments that handle this industry should be trained to understand the nature of mining activities with regards to hazards and dangers to both themselves and the people they arrest and detain.

Unlike normal, civil criminal activities these come with attendant risk of exposure to all sorts of chemical agents both in extraction, rudimentary on-site processing to the very extracts themselves and all should be considered as potential HAZMAT's and treated with caution.

All mining related detention facilities should have medical personnel knowledgeable and experienced in the hazards of the industry.

iwaeda:
Ilegal Miners: FG Orders Immediate Suspension Of Commandant,



Source

VIDEO: Niger gov confirms death of 37 'illegal' miners in NSCDC custody, says commander suspended

🎮: @Nupenchii_ pic.twitter.com/DmXAaCPy8H

— TheCable (@thecableng) September 17, 2026

https://x.com/sir_Abdulkadir/status/2100703627673256169

There is a massive cover up happening

iwaeda:
Ilegal Miners: FG Orders Immediate Suspension Of Commandant,



Source

VIDEO: Niger gov confirms death of 37 'illegal' miners in NSCDC custody, says commander suspended

🎮: @Nupenchii_ pic.twitter.com/DmXAaCPy8H

— TheCable (@thecableng) September 17, 2026

https://x.com/sir_Abdulkadir/status/2100703627673256169

Why did the disease not kill the NSCDC officials

Which sickness kills like this ? Looks like they all died from asphyxiation