Niger NSCDC Commandant Suspended Over Deaths of 37 Artisanal Miners

The Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Prof. Ahmed Audi Abubakar, has ordered the immediate suspension of the Niger State Commandant, Suberu Siyaka, following the deaths of 37 artisanal miners in the custody of the corps.

Gov. Mohammed Umaru Bago disclosed this in Minna while briefing newsmen on the incident, saying the state government had constituted a committee of inquiry, chaired by his deputy, to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

The deceased miners, whose ages were said to range from 10 to above 30 years, were arrested by the NSCDC Mining Marshals on Sept. 15 and 16 around the M.I. Wushishi mining site in Minna. Bago said about 50 miners were taken into custody and kept in a small cell, resulting in the deaths of 37 detainees in the early hours of Sept. 17, while seven others were rushed to the emergency unit of Minna General Hospital.

Following the incident, youths from Tunga area, where many of the victims reportedly came from, barricaded a major road and smashed the windscreens of vehicles believed to belong to the government. Bago appealed to the youths not to take the law into their hands, assuring the families of the deceased that justice would be served.

The governor said a register of the deceased would be opened to enable the government to officially visit and condole with the families. He said the cause of the deaths had yet to be established, stressing that investigations by the NSCDC, other relevant security agencies and the state government would determine what happened. Bago also announced the closure of all artisanal mining activities around the M.I. Wushishi mining site, warning that anyone violating the directive would be arrested.