A surviving miner detained during an enforcement operation against suspected illegal mining in Niger State has alleged that Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, officials sprayed an unidentified substance inside a detention cell before several detainees began collapsing.
Headlineswave learnt tha the survivor made the allegation during Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo’s visit to some of the survivors, who were reportedly being held with the Department of State Services, DSS.
According to the miner, “They sprayed something in the cell after putting us inside, and people started falling down.”
The allegation, contained in a video from the minister’s visit, has since circulated widely on social media, adding a new dimension to questions surrounding the deaths of dozens of suspected illegal miners in NSCDC custody in Niger State.
The deaths occurred after NSCDC operatives carried out enforcement operations around the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto axis of Minna between September 15 and 16, 2026.
Scores of artisanal miners were arrested during the operation, with reports indicating that many of those detained were young men and internally displaced persons from communities including Shiroro.
By the early hours of Thursday, September 17, dozens of detainees had died in custody.
Niger State Governor Umaru Bago confirmed 37 deaths, although earlier reports had put the number at about 33.
The bodies were taken to the General Hospital in Minna, while several were subsequently buried in accordance with Islamic rites.
The circumstances surrounding the deaths remain under investigation.
NSCDC initially suggested that a disease outbreak could have been responsible, with diphtheria mentioned in some reports. The corpses were deposited for medical examination to establish the cause of death, while the command appealed for calm pending the outcome of investigations.
However, accounts from survivors and relatives have raised concerns about the conditions under which the miners were detained.
Some survivors reportedly said about 65 to 66 people were packed into a small and poorly ventilated cell, where extreme heat, inadequate airflow and limited access to water allegedly caused detainees to struggle for breath.
Some detainees reportedly banged on the cell door and cried for help as people began collapsing.
One account alleged that some detainees were so severely dehydrated that they resorted to drinking urine.
Survivors who were positioned close to the entrance or a window were reportedly better able to withstand the conditions.
‘They sprayed something in the cell after putting us inside, and people started falling down’
The accounts have raised the possibility that overcrowding, heat and inadequate ventilation may have contributed to the deaths, although authorities have not established this as the definitive cause.
Governor Bago has said investigators are also examining possible exposure to hazardous substances associated with mining activities.
The latest allegation by the surviving miner that an unidentified substance was sprayed inside the cell is therefore one of several accounts being examined.
