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Thirty-seven suspected illegal gold miners died in overcrowded custody cells in Minna, Niger State, triggering widespread rioting across the state capital on Friday.
Survivors reported severe panic and suffocation inside the unventilated Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) cells, stating that guards ignored their desperate cries for help as detainees collapsed.
In response to the tragedy, angry mobs blocked main thoroughfares and attacked a local transport depot, prompting police to open fire to disperse the crowds.
An official intelligence report linked the mass deaths directly to extreme overcrowding and inadequate ventilation, contradicting initial NSCDC claims that disease killed the miners.
Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo suspended NSCDC State Commandant Suberu Siyaka Aniviye and ordered a comprehensive investigation into the incident.
Meanwhile, Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago imposed a nighttime curfew across Minna to contain the escalating civil unrest in the mineral-rich region.
