*Demands Independent Probe, Questions Children’s Detention And Who Profits From Illegal Mining
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The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has demanded a thorough, independent, transparent and credible investigation into the deaths of 37 persons who were arrested on suspicion of illegal mining and subsequently died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State.
In a statement dated September 19, 2026, NBA President, Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, FCIArb, said the association deliberately refrained from making an immediate pronouncement on the cause of the deaths because it did not want to reach conclusions ahead of medical, forensic and investigative evidence. She stressed, however, that the Association’s initial restraint should not be mistaken for indifference.
The NBA noted that reports of the deaths emerged in the early hours of Thursday, September 17. While Reuters initially reported that 33 bodies had been deposited at the General Hospital, Minna mortuary, Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago subsequently confirmed that 37 persons had died.
Badejo-Okusanya extended the Association’s condolences to the families of the deceased and the people and government of Niger State, while wishing the survivors recovery from what she described as a deeply traumatic experience.
“Thirty-seven lives have been lost. Thirty-seven families are grieving. And whatever the circumstances that led to their arrest, these were 37 Nigerians who entered the custody of the NSCDC alive and who, while in that custody, were entitled to the protection of the law and to the preservation of their lives and human dignity,” she said.
The NBA acknowledged the initial steps already taken by government, including the suspension of the Niger State NSCDC Commandant and the summoning of senior officers, investigations by the Corps and the Niger State Government, the intervention of the Nigeria Police Force, deployment of a team by the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development and the involvement of the Minister of Interior.
It also noted the directive for a full investigation and for anyone found responsible through abuse, negligence or dereliction of duty to be held accountable. While describing the initial response as prompt and commendable, the NBA warned that announcing investigations was only the beginning.
“The true measure of the response will ultimately not be the speed with which investigations are announced, but rather the independence and thoroughness with which they are conducted, the transparency with which their findings are made known, and the accountability that follows from those findings,” the Association said.
The NBA said investigators must answer several fundamental questions: how 37 people could die within such a short period in custody; the conditions under which they were detained; how many persons were confined in the facility compared with its lawful capacity; what medical attention was available; what happened when detainees reportedly showed signs of distress and called for help; and, ultimately, the scientific cause of the deaths.
Badejo-Okusanya said survivor accounts alleging overcrowding, inadequate ventilation and troubling treatment of detainees must not simply be accepted as established fact, but equally must not be ignored.
“The NBA will not repeat allegations as established facts, nor will we prejudge those who may ultimately be called upon to answer for what occurred. But neither should credible allegations concerning overcrowding, lack of ventilation, the treatment of detainees and the circumstances immediately preceding the deaths be ignored. They must be investigated and either established or disproved by evidence,” she said.
The Association said the tragedy also exposed a deeper concern about the treatment of suspects by Nigerian law-enforcement and security institutions.
It warned against a culture in which wealthy or influential suspects may receive the restraint and courtesy guaranteed by law, while poor and vulnerable persons without influence are too readily treated as guilty from the moment of arrest.
According to the NBA, the constitutional presumption of innocence does not depend on wealth, status or influence.
“A suspect is not a convict, whether rich or poor, powerful or powerless. And the presumption of innocence is not an abstract phrase reserved for the courtroom. It must inform how the State treats every person from the very moment it takes away his or her liberty,” the statement said.
The Association expressed particular concern over reports that detainees cried for help while struggling to breathe and may not have received an adequate or timely response.
It said investigators must establish who heard any such cries, what those persons knew, what action they took and when they acted.
The NBA then posed what it described as an uncomfortable wider question: “Why does the allegation that persons in distress could cry out from a detention cell and be ignored, sound so readily believable to so many Nigerians?”
According to the Association, the answer goes beyond the Niger State incident because Nigerians have repeatedly complained about suspects being insulted, humiliated, threatened, brutalised or treated with unnecessary hostility by security agencies.
It stressed that the State’s responsibility increases, rather than diminishes, once a person has been deprived of his liberty and can no longer simply walk away from danger.
“A person gasping for breath is not, at that moment, an ‘illegal miner’, an accused person or a case file.
“That person is a human being in distress, and the first duty must be to save that life,” the NBA said.
The Association said professionalism in law enforcement should therefore not be measured solely by arrests or prosecutions but also by the restraint with which State power is exercised and the dignity and humanity shown to people in custody.
“A society committed to the rule of law does not ask whether suspects deserve compassion. It recognises that their humanity requires it,” the statement added.
The NBA also raised alarm over what it described as increasingly compelling reports and video evidence indicating that children were among those detained and among the deceased.
It said media reports had identified some victims as teenagers, while information suggesting that even younger children may have been involved required official verification.
The Association demanded that investigators establish the identity and age of every person arrested and every person who died, as well as whether legal safeguards specifically applicable to children were observed.
The NBA said another fundamental question was why children were allegedly working at the mining sites in the first place.
It argued that where children were visibly among those apprehended, investigators must determine what protocols were followed in deciding whether they should have been detained.
“If children were being used to perform mining labour, then our inquiry must go beyond whether they were engaged in ‘illegal mining’. We must establish who put them there, who controlled the mining operations and who profited from their labour,” the NBA said.
It added that a child found working at an illegal mining site could himself or herself be a victim entitled to State protection rather than simply an offender against whom enforcement action should be taken.
The NBA consequently broadened its demand beyond the circumstances of the deaths to the ownership, financing and control of the mining operation itself.
It acknowledged that illegal mining is a serious national problem capable of depriving Nigeria of revenue, damaging communities and the environment and, in some circumstances, facilitating organised crime.
The Association therefore expressed support for lawful enforcement of Nigeria’s mining laws, but insisted that enforcement must not end with poor labourers physically working at mining sites.
“Where illegal mining operations are organised, financed or commercially exploited by other persons, the law must also reach those who own, finance, control and ultimately profit from those operations,” it said.
The NBA warned that poverty and vulnerability must not result in labourers becoming the easiest people to arrest while those allegedly organising or profiting from unlawful mining activities remain beyond the reach of law enforcement.
It therefore asked the authorities to establish the ownership and control of the mining operations involved in the Niger incident and, where criminal offences are disclosed, pursue everyone in the chain of responsibility “without fear or favour.”
Badejo-Okusanya also announced that the NBA would conduct its own monitoring of the case rather than remain a spectator.
The Association has constituted a team headed by Jonathan Gunu Taidi, SAN, a former General Secretary of the NBA and Senior Advocate resident in Minna, alongside members of the NBA Minna Branch.
The team will meet and commiserate with families of the deceased, engage with surviving detainees and their relatives and attempt, as far as possible, to independently establish the circumstances surrounding the arrests, detention and deaths.
It will also engage relevant authorities and monitor the investigations currently underway.
The NBA demanded preservation of all relevant evidence, proper forensic and medical investigations and protection of survivors and other material witnesses so they can give evidence without intimidation.
It also asked that the findings of investigations be made public to the fullest extent permitted by law.
“Where the evidence discloses criminal or other legal responsibility, we expect those responsible to be brought before the law, irrespective of rank or office,” the Association said.
Badejo-Okusanya said the NBA would also monitor any prosecution arising from the incident, both to ensure justice for the deceased and to protect the fair-trial rights of anyone eventually charged.
“And when that process reaches the courts, the Nigerian Bar Association will be there,” she said.
“We will monitor any prosecutions arising from this incident to ensure that justice is pursued for those who died and also that every defendant is afforded the fair trial our Constitution guarantees.”
While acknowledging public anger over the deaths, the NBA appealed for calm and urged citizens to allow investigations to continue without violence or destruction.
The Association said the central fact requiring answers remained that 37 Nigerians entered government custody alive but never returned to their families.
“The fact that 37 Nigerians went into government custody and did not return to their families alive demands answers, and those answers must come from evidence, not conjecture; and from a process that commands public confidence, not one that merely manages public outrage,” Badejo-Okusanya said.
“The Nigerian Bar Association will follow that process closely and insist on the truth. We will insist on accountability where responsibility is established.
“And we will insist that, whatever a person’s station in life and whatever offence he or she may be suspected of committing, the dignity and life of every Nigerian in the custody of the State remain inviolable.”
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