Former Kaduna Central Senator Shehu Sani has called for the arrest and prosecution of every officer involved in the detention of suspected illegal miners who died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Minna, as anger grows over the circumstances of their deaths.

At least 37 suspected miners died after being held in a cell at the NSCDC command in Minna, the Niger State capital. They were reportedly arrested at mining sites around the Wushishi and Lukoto axis on September 15 and 16, and died on Thursday. Sani said those responsible must face justice if investigations establish their role, and described the conditions in which the detainees were held as inhospitable and inhumane, likening the incident to mass murder.

Survivors have given a harrowing account. One of them, Dauda Shehu, said about 65 people were packed into the cell with hardly any ventilation. He said the men suddenly struggled to breathe, banged on the door and raised the alarm repeatedly, but no one responded. Another survivor said he lived only because he was close to the entrance, where air was easier to get.

A third alleged that a guard sprayed a scented substance into the cell shortly before the breathing difficulties began, while others pointed to dehydration.

The Corps at first attributed the deaths to a suspected disease outbreak, but an intelligence report seen by AFP suggested overcrowding and poor ventilation were to blame. Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago introduced another possibility, saying preliminary forensic findings showed foam mixed with bloodstains in the mouths of some victims and peeling skin, which raised the prospect of poisoning by lead or other substances. He stressed that a full investigation was needed.

The federal government has since suspended the Niger State Commandant of the NSCDC, Suberu Aniviye, on the order of Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo. President Bola Tinubu ordered a thorough and transparent investigation covering the arrests, the condition of the detainees, the number of people held, the medical attention provided and the events that led to the deaths, insisting that suspected illegal miners still have the right to life and humane treatment. The Inspector General of Police, Tunji Disu, has also visited Minna to oversee a probe alongside the Corps and a state committee of inquiry.

The deaths triggered protests in Minna that later turned violent, with vehicles vandalised, offices attacked and businesses looted. Governor Bago imposed a curfew on the city and suspended mining activities across the state pending soil tests. No final official finding has yet established what killed the miners.