Security forces opened fire in the Tunga area of Minna, the Niger State capital, on Friday as hundreds of people took to the streets to protest against the deaths of 37 miners in the custody of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The miners, mostly youths, were found dead on Thursday in the cells of the NSCDC which had raided suspected illegal gold mines and locked up dozens of miners in Minna.
A witness told Reuters News Agency that he saw security forces fire live rounds as protesters – some armed with sticks, machetes and traditional hunting rifles – called for justice. Some protesters tried to set fire to government buildings in the Tunga neighbourhood.
“We are not thieves – we are simply seeking a way to make a living by mining,” Yusuf Auwal, a miner who joined the protesters, told Reuters.
At least one body lay on the streets. Soldiers and police officers were also seen patrolling Minna to try to restore order.
The NSCDC said the detainees had been held in raids on suspected illegal mines on September 15 to 16 in the Wushishi-Lukoto area west of Minna.
It initially said a suspected disease outbreak may have been involved in their deaths, but later said the cause of death had not been established and would be determined by medical examinations.
The government has promised an investigation into the deaths and suspended some senior officials but anger over the incident led to clashes overnight and into Friday.
Interior Minister, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, ordered the immediate suspension of Niger State’s NSCDC commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, pending the outcome of a full investigation.
“It is an unfortunate incident, however, a full investigation will be conducted while the commandant under whose watch this happened remains suspended,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
The mother of one of the detainees, Shafa’atu Suleiman, told Reuters outside the hospital on Thursday that she had visited her son Abdullahi in detention and found him in a cramped NSCDC cell, before later learning that he had died.
Officials had refused to allow relatives to deliver food to the detainees and allegedly demanded N100,000 for them to be freed, she said.
“This is injustice. We will not forgive them.”
