37 Died in Custody: Families Describe What Came Before the Niger State Detention Tragedy

Survivors and relatives say overcrowding, cash demands, and chaotic mining‑enforcement arrests preceded the deaths of 37 detainees in NSCDC custody, raising urgent questions about detention practices and accountability.

By Onibiyo Segun

MINNA, Nigeria — Thirty‑seven detainees died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State on September 17, two days after 67 people were arrested during mining‑enforcement operations around the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Minna. Survivors’s families told TruthNigeria they were packed into a room built for 20 to 25 people, while families say they attempted to secure their loved ones’ release before the deaths — some alleging cash demands and arbitrary arrests that swept up non‑miners. The Federal Government has suspended implicated officers and convened a 10‑member investigative panel to determine how the detainees were arrested, held, and ultimately died.

The arrests occurred around the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Minna on September 15 and 16. A survivor told TruthNigeria that 67 people were held in a room meant for about 25. A retired NSCDC officer who served in the Mining Unit separately put the holding cell’s standard capacity at 20 to 25.

The Federal Government has suspended officers connected to the incident and inaugurated a 10-member independent committee to establish how the detainees were arrested, held and died.

Families Say They Tried To Get Their Loved Ones Out

For some families, the tragedy began before the bodies were counted.

“They asked for ₦100,000 to secure his release on September 16. I had only ₦20,000 and was told it was insufficient,” Hadiza Umar, 48, whose son died in custody said. 

“They arrested everyone. Now they say 37 died of disease. My husband was healthy. He is not a miner. He only sells pure water at the mining site,” Fatima Jibrin, whose husband also died, told TruthNigeria.

The accounts raise a broader question: who was being detained, on what basis, and what happened when relatives sought to get them home?

TruthNigeria’s earlier reporting established that 67 suspected illegal miners were detained during the September operation and that 37 were later found dead. 

The report also cited a security official who said the holding facility was designed for 20 to 25 people and a medical officer who described dehydration and exhaustion among the bodies received at General Hospital Minna.

One Mother Had Already Seen The Cell

Hafsat Saidu said she had previously spent five days inside the same NSCDC facility.

She told TheCable that she was arrested at a mining site during an earlier operation and released after her family paid ₦45,000. She alleged that ₦10,000 was demanded for bail and ₦5,000 for home verification, while another detained woman was charged ₦10,000.

TruthNigeria separately interviewed Hafsat’s daughter, Zainab Saidu, who said the family brought food to her mother during the five-day detention and paid ₦45,000 before she was released.

During the September operation, Hafsat said, her children were among those arrested. One survived. Another died.

The connection gives the case a human timeline: a mother who had already experienced the detention conditions later watched her children enter the same system, and one did not return.

Survivors Describe The Final Hours

 “We were 67 in a room for 25. There was no air. People started vomiting. We shouted for help, nobody opened the door until morning, then they found bodies.” Dauda Shehu noted.

“I was lucky, my family paid quickly and I left at 10 am on the 16th. The cell was already smelling badly. Those who remained died that night,” Zayyanu Idris, released on September 16, said his family paid quickly.

Reuters separately reported survivor accounts of severe overcrowding and an allegation that an unidentified substance was sprayed inside the cell. The cause of the deaths has not been conclusively established.

Earlier Detainees Describe A Pattern

A former detainee at the facility described conditions and payments they said were similar.

“We slept standing in shifts. They told us to bring ₦50,000,” Ibrahim Dangana, a miner, said he spent three days there in March with 35 people.

A former NSCDC Mining Unit superintendent, John Okafor, told TruthNigeria that the holding cell’s standard capacity was 20 to 25. He also said payments for home verification were not part of the Corps’ standard operating procedure.

A Separate Question About Mining Enforcement

TruthNigeria also interviewed a serving senior NSCDC officer with direct knowledge of mining-enforcement operations who requested anonymity because of fear of professional repercussions.

The officer alleged that financial-return expectations influence some mining-enforcement postings and that pressure to produce money can encourage more arrests and longer detention. The source said alleged returns moved upward within the command structure.

This creates a second investigative track: whether financial incentives influenced the enforcement operation and, if so, whether they affected arrest and detention decisions.

“Holding 67 people in a cell designed for 20 to 25 would be inconsistent with basic detention practice. Investigators should examine whether arrest decisions were driven by objectives beyond security enforcement.” Lt. Col. Usman Babangida (rtd.), a former tactical training officer and security consultant said.

What Investigators Must Establish

The government’s independent committee has been given a broad mandate: identify the dead, document their arrests and detention, establish the cause and manner of death through medical and forensic examination, determine whether negligence or misconduct occurred, and recommend disciplinary action and compensation where appropriate.

For the families, the central issue is no longer simply how many died. It is whether those who entered custody alive received water, ventilation, medical attention and lawful treatment; whether some detainees were held because they could not pay; and whether non-miners were swept into the operation.

Onibiyo Segun reports on terrorism and conflicts for TruthNigeria.

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