Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Rilwan Disu has met Niger State Governor Umaru Bago over the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners.
The miners reportedly died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Minna.
Disu visited the Niger State Government House, where he commiserated with Bago over the incident.
The IGP assured the governor that the circumstances surrounding the deaths would be fully and transparently investigated.
The deaths have sparked protests and unrest in parts of Minna. Governor Bago subsequently imposed a 24-hour curfew across the state capital.
The curfew began immediately after Friday’s Jumu’ah prayers and remains in force until further notice. Residents were directed to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary movement.
Security agencies were also ordered to enforce the curfew and protect lives and property.
The Niger miners’ deaths followed enforcement operations against suspected illegal mining around M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto.
The arrests were carried out between September 15 and 16, 2026. The NSCDC initially linked the deaths to a suspected disease outbreak.
However, authorities later stressed that the actual cause had not been established.
Bago said several possibilities were being examined, including overcrowding and exposure to harmful substances.
“The most important is that people died in the custody of the Nigerian Civil Defence Corps. They were detained in their cells, and this morning we woke up to the news that 37 of them had died,” Bago said.
“There is no official root cause of these deaths yet. It is too early for anybody to conclude the root causes,” Bago said.
He said medical examinations, forensic checks and autopsies were being conducted to establish what happened.
“It could be as a result of suffocation because there were so many in a cell. The second issue could be because of exposure to maybe lead poisoning or other very hazardous chemicals that are used to do the illegal mining,” he said.
The Niger State Government has also set up a committee to investigate the deaths. The NSCDC commandant in Niger State and his team have been suspended pending the investigation.
The Federal Government has also ordered a full investigation into the incident. Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo directed the NSCDC leadership to conduct a full-scale investigation.
The Niger State commandant was asked to step aside and report to NSCDC headquarters in Abuja.
President Bola Tinubu has also ordered an investigation and called for accountability where wrongdoing is established.
Information Minister Mohammed Idris expressed the Federal Government’s condolences to the victims’ families.
He said protecting lives, dignity and fundamental rights remains a responsibility of government.
The Niger miners’ deaths have therefore triggered investigations at state and federal levels.
