RDI Demands Probe, Autopsies Into Deaths of 37 Suspected Illegal Miners in Niger

The Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI) has called for an immediate and detailed investigation into the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners who reportedly died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State.
RDI Executive Director, Philip Jakpor, said the circumstances surrounding the deaths were too serious to be dismissed without an independent determination of what happened to the miners after their arrest.
The call followed an NSCDC operation conducted between September 15 and 16 at M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto Village, areas known for artisanal gold mining activities.
The NSCDC reportedly arrested about 65 persons during the operation. Thirty-seven of them were subsequently found dead at the agency’s facility in the early hours of Thursday, September 17.
The corps attributed the deaths to a suspected outbreak of disease.
But RDI said the explanation requires independent verification, insisting that the cause of death must be established through proper medical investigation rather than assumption.
Jakpor described the deaths as “totally unacceptable”, particularly because the victims reportedly died while in the custody of a government security agency.
“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,” he said.
He added: “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.”
RDI’s concerns come against the backdrop of Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago’s description of the incident as “sad and tragic” during a press conference on Thursday.
RDI Questions Illegal Mining Enforcement
Beyond the deaths, RDI is questioning the manner in which illegal mining enforcement is being conducted and whether operations are adequately targeting the wider networks behind illicit mining activities.
Jakpor argued that the arrest of artisanal miners alone does not address the larger structure of illegal mining, particularly where those financing, controlling or benefiting from mining operations remain unidentified.
“Arresting artisan miners trying to eke out a living cannot be a big burst when the big players walk freely on the streets,” he said.
RDI wants authorities to establish what the arrested miners were extracting, who owned or controlled the mining sites and whether the locations were covered by valid mining titles.
“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,” Jakpor added.
The claim that the deaths may have been connected to an attempt to shield powerful interests has not been established. RDI is calling for the circumstances to be investigated rather than assumed.
For the organisation, determining the ownership and legal status of the mining sites is an important part of understanding the wider incident.
Demanding forensix evidence, RDI has also called for immediate autopsies on the bodies of the deceased miners, with the findings made public.
The organisation said the autopsies should establish the actual cause of death and provide clarity on whether the deaths resulted from disease, environmental or other conditions, or any other factor.
The demand comes as questions persist over the conditions under which the suspects were detained and the medical attention available to them while in custody.
RDI said the investigation should therefore cover the entire sequence of events, from the arrest of the miners and their transfer to the NSCDC facility to the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
The organisation’s position is that the deaths of 37 people cannot be treated merely as another development in Nigeria’s ongoing fight against illegal mining.
It wants the authorities to establish the facts, identify any breach of duty and make the findings available to the public.
For RDI, the immediate priority is not only to determine how the 37 miners died, but also to establish who was responsible for the mining activities that led to their arrest and whether the enforcement operation reached those higher up the illegal mining chain.

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Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps