Nigeria miners struggled to breathe, survivor says

Nigeria has suspended a civil defence commander and ordered an investigation after 37 suspected illegal gold miners died in custody in Niger state, as a survivor said detainees were packed into an unventilated cell and struggled to breathe.

Dauda Shehu told journalists at a central Nigerian hospital that the detainees were “jam-packed” in the cell and had no ventilation. He said they appealed for help and banged on the cell door but were not answered.

Niger state Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago earlier said about 37 people suspected of illegal mining died early Thursday while in civil defence custody in Minna, the state capital.

Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo said Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, the Niger state commander of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, had been suspended while a full investigation is carried out.

An intelligence report seen by AFP blamed the deaths on overcrowding and poor ventilation in the facility where the detainees were being held. The report said the incident triggered protests by groups of miners and sympathisers in Minna.

Police have also launched an investigation.

Niger state is rich in minerals and attracts thousands of artisanal miners, many hoping to find gold. Officials and experts say the scramble for gold from illegal mines in the state is fuelling violence by criminal gangs known locally as bandits, who tax miners and demand a share of extracted ore.