By Obiabin Onukwugha
A civil society Organization, Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI) has urged the federal government to carry out a detailed investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of 37 alleged illegal miners in the custody of the Niger State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The body also recommended an immediate autopsy to determine the cause of the deaths and the findings made public.
The body made the call in a statement issued by its Executive Director, Phillip Jakpor, made available to NatureNews, on Friday.
The call by RDI is coming on the heels of the incident on Thursday, which the Niger State Governor, Mohammed Bago described as “sad and tragic” during a press conference.
The NSCDC had reported that on 15 and 16 September 2026 it carried out a “burst operation” in M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto Village – an area known for small-scale gold mining activities, to curb illegal mining.
“Unverifiable sources said the arrested suspects numbered about 65 and were crammed into the paramilitary agency’s facility. Thirty-seven of them were found dead in the early hours of Thursday, September 17 under conditions that the agency termed “suspected outbreak of disease,” the statement read.
RDI in the statement posited that the NSCDC claim of suspected outbreak of disease was suspicious.
“The deaths of the artisan miners under the watch of the NSCDC are totally unacceptable. It is not even the responsibility of the agency to build detention centers where victims are crammed to show it is delivering on its mandate.
“That is supposed to be the function of the Nigeria Police. That is why we insist that this incident cannot be swept under the carpet. We are talking about 37 young men who were hale and hearty when they were apprehended,” the statement read in part.
Jakpor expressed concern over the sudden death of the suspects, stating that the artisan miners are not the big players behind the illegal mining operations across the country.
“Arresting artisan miners trying to eke out a living cannot be a big burst when the big players walk freely on the streets. We need to know what the young men were mining; who owns the particular sites where they were apprehended, or if the deaths were the silencing of pawns to shield some powerful individuals,” the statement read.
