Families of suspected illegal miners who died in Nigerian detention accuse officials of mistreatment

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Lawan Mohammed is distraught over the death of his 25-year-old son Sulieman who was found dead in the custody of a Nigerian security agency in the north-central region of the country.

He said Sulieman was a motorcycle mechanic in Niger state and was on his way home when he and some friends were arrested by personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, or NSCDC.

“I went there the following morning to give him food, only to hear that he was dead,” Mohammed said.

On Thursday, Sulieman was found dead in a cell of the NSCDC along with 36 other detainees. A total of 67 people suspected of being miners working illegally were held in a cell, and 37 of them probably died of suffocation, Niger state Gov. Umar Bago said Friday. The suspects were arrested between Tuesday and Wednesday.

The security agency on Thursday blamed the deaths on a possible disease outbreak. An investigation is underway to determine what caused the deaths.

On Saturday, the Nigerian government named a 10-member committee drawn from the legal, security, mining and medical professions, and announced the suspension of 20 more NSCDC personnel. The head of the security agency in Niger state had been suspended on Friday.

“Any attempt to destroy or conceal evidence, intimidate witnesses or obstruct the investigation will be treated as a serious offense,” interior minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo said in a statement.

Mohammed said: “I had a lot of expectations for my son, but now (they have) been shattered completely. I am really hurt. They chose to beat him up, burst his head open. His teeth were even falling out. I want the government to make sure that justice prevails.”

There have long been concerns about the treatment of suspects in Nigerian detention centers. In 2025, the National Human Rights Commission said it received 371,622 complaints of rights violations, including unlawful arrest and detention, denial of justice and torture.

“It raises serious questions about detention standards, operational planning, accountability and respect for due process,” Kehinde Giwa, a security analyst at Lagos-based SBM Intelligence, said about the deaths of the suspects.

“Even when arrests are lawful, suspects must be kept in safe conditions and given timely medical attention.”

Saba Usman alleged that his son Usman Whalid, who was a student and did menial work to survive, was mistreated while in custody before he died.

“When I saw him, he was really in a bad shape because he was beaten and was (stepped) on with boots, so I knew they really mistreated him while he was in their custody,” he said.

“I even have his videos and pictures on my phone of how he was being stepped on, and how his mouth was also stepped on and his teeth broken,” he added.

Usman said his son and others who were arrested did not commit a crime but “were framed,” adding that “I have nothing else to say but to give God thanks because he knows why this really happened.”

Mubarak Dahiru, a survivor who appeared traumatized by his ordeal, said while in detention they were sweating profusely and pleaded with NSCDC officials for water and food, but their requests were ignored.

“They beat us as if we were thieves. They also used their guns and hit us with them,” Dahiru said.

Nigerian Bar Association president Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya said the death of 37 people while in the custody of a government agency is an “event of the utmost gravity and demands a thorough, independent, transparent and credible investigation.”

Illegal mining remains a challenge in Nigeria. Analysts have linked illegal mining activities in Nigeria’s north-central and northwest regions to armed gangs involved in kidnappings for ransom, claiming the groups receive funding from the illicit trade.