No fewer than 33 illegal mining suspects have died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State following a suspected outbreak of an unidentified illness.
The victims were among 40 suspects detained after they were arrested during a security operation targeting illegal mining activities in the state.
The incident occurred at the male section of an NSCDC detention facility in Niger State, where the suspects had been held following their arrest at an illegal mining site within a residential area.
It was gathered that the deaths were discovered in the early hours of Thursday, with some of the deceased reportedly found with foam coming from their mouths.
Confirming the deaths, the NSCDC Niger State Commandant said the arrests followed a “burst operation” conducted on September 15 and 16 as part of efforts to curb illegal mining in the state.
According to him, the operation led to the arrest of scores of suspected illegal miners and the recovery of several exhibits linked to their activities.
He said the command later discovered that several of those detained had died, although the exact circumstances surrounding the deaths remained unclear.
The commandant described the deaths as being linked to a suspected disease outbreak but did not identify the illness or provide details on how it may have spread among the detainees.
Meanwhile, the Niger State government had yet to disclose the results of any medical examination or investigation into the deaths as of the time of filing this report.
The cause of the deaths, the identity of the suspected disease and whether other detainees were affected remained unclear.