The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged four United Nations Special Rapporteurs to intervene over the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State and reports of security forces using force against protesters in Minna.
In an urgent appeal dated September 18, 2026, and signed by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation called on the UN experts to seek answers from the Nigerian authorities and press for independent investigations into both incidents.
The 37 detainees were among people arrested by the NSCDC during operations targeting suspected illegal mining in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State on September 15 and 16.
The detainees were subsequently held at an NSCDC facility in Minna, where the 37 deaths were reported on September 17. Authorities have yet to establish the definitive cause of death. The NSCDC initially referred to a suspected disease outbreak, while subsequent accounts from survivors and other reports raised concerns about overcrowding and poor ventilation. Medical and forensic investigations have been ordered to determine what happened.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered a full investigation into the incident, including the circumstances of the arrests, the conditions under which the detainees were held, the medical attention provided to them and the events leading to their deaths. The Niger State NSCDC commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, has also been suspended pending the investigation.
Following the deaths, protests were reported in Minna. Reuters reported that security forces used tear gas and that witnesses said firearms were used against protesters, although the precise type of ammunition used was not immediately established. A curfew was subsequently imposed in the state capital.
SERAP said the circumstances surrounding the deaths in custody and the reported use of force against protesters warranted urgent international scrutiny.
“Thirty-seven people went into NSCDC custody. They came out dead. Nigerians deserve to know what happened,” the organisation said in its appeal.
SERAP is asking the UN Special Rapporteurs on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; freedom of peaceful assembly and association; freedom of opinion and expression; and the situation of human rights defenders to communicate with the Nigerian government over the incidents.
Among other requests, the organisation wants the authorities to establish the identities of all 37 deceased persons, determine the circumstances and causes of their deaths, investigate the conditions in which they were detained and establish whether individual officers or commanders bear responsibility.
It also called for the preservation of physical, medical, documentary, digital and forensic evidence, as well as access to relevant information for the victims’ families.
On the Minna protests, SERAP urged the authorities to establish the number and status of protesters killed or injured and investigate allegations of unlawful or excessive use of force.
The organisation further called for security personnel suspected of unlawful killings or excessive use of force to be held accountable through due process if violations are established, while victims and their families should receive appropriate remedies.
SERAP also urged the government to protect protesters, journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders, witnesses and relatives of victims from intimidation or reprisals and to ensure that future policing of demonstrations complies with international standards on legality, necessity and proportionality.
The UN appeal comes as federal and state authorities continue investigations into the deaths in NSCDC custody. Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago has also constituted a committee of inquiry, while authorities have said medical examinations and autopsies are being pursued to establish the scientific cause of the deaths.
The reported allegations of lethal force during the Minna demonstrations, like the circumstances surrounding the detainees’ deaths, remain subject to investigation. No final official finding has established responsibility for the deaths or determined whether live ammunition caused any reported protester casualties.