Protests break out in Nigeria after 37 miners die in custody
The report suggested the 37 died as a result of overcrowding and poor ventilation in the detention facility, though the civil defence initially blamed the deaths on disease
Published: 04:09 PM,Sep 18,2026 | EDITED : 08:09 PM,Sep 18,2026
Police opened fire as protesters took to the streets of a city in central Nigeria on Friday, a day after 37 suspected illegal gold miners died while in the custody of a paramilitary civil defence group, witnesses said.
It was not immediately clear whether police were firing anti-riot pellets or live rounds to disperse the crowds in Minna, the capital of Niger State.
Nigeria's government said it had suspended a civil defence commander and ordered a 'full investigation' over Thursday's deaths.
Niger State, which is more than twice the size of Belgium, is rich in minerals and attracts thousands of artisanal miners - most of them lured by the hope of striking gold.
Crowds barricaded a main road in the part of the city where most of the miners came from on Friday, with witnesses reporting panic among residents.
'The city has been tense,' said Hassan Usman, a resident of Tunga, the district where the dead miners were detained.
'The youth in Tunga went on a rampage and attacked the Niger State Transport Authority office, where they smashed buses.'
A video showed police firing towards the mob along a deserted highway.
'Parents hurriedly picked up their children from school before closing time for fear of break down of law and order,' said another resident, Abubakar Idris.
The interior ministry said it had suspended Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, the state commander of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), while the incident is investigated.
The NSCDC is a paramilitary group that works with the police.
'It is an unfortunate incident; however, a full investigation will be conducted while the commandant under whose watch this happened remains suspended,' Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo said in a statement.
An intelligence report claimed that groups of miners and sympathisers came out to protest.
The report suggested the 37 died as a result of overcrowding and poor ventilation in the detention facility, though the civil defence initially blamed the deaths on disease.
The scramble for gold reserves dug up in illegal mines in Niger State is fuelling violence by criminal gangs, known locally as bandits, according to officials and experts.
The gangs tax the miners and demand a cut from the extracted ore as a levy to allow them access to the pits. - AFP