Publication

There are some deaths that leave behind more than grief. They leave questions. In September 2026, Nigeria was confronted with one such moment when about 37 suspected artisanal miners died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State. They had reportedly been arrested during enforcement operations against illegal mining.



What exactly caused the deaths remains the subject of investigation. Initial official explanations referred to a possible disease outbreak, while survivors have given accounts raising concerns about overcrowding, ventilation, and what they described as an unidentified substance being sprayed into the cell.



The government has ordered an investigation, some NSCDC personnel have reportedly been suspended, and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has commenced its own preliminary investigation and called for an independent forensic autopsy. But beyond the question of what killed them, there is an even more fundamental question:



What duty does the State owe to a person once it takes away his liberty?



The answer should be simple: protection, dignity and accountability.

A person does not lose his human rights merely because he has been arrested. Even where there is credible suspicion of a crime, suspicion is not conviction. A suspect remains entitled to humane treatment, personal dignity, life and due process.



Indeed, the NHRC has expressly stated that suspicion of illegal mining does not extinguish citizens' constitutional rights and that persons in custody must be treated with dignity.



This is where the incident becomes bigger than illegal mining.

If someone is free in society and something happens to him, the circumstances may be complicated. But when the State arrests a person, locks him behind a door, and assumes complete control over his movement and environment, the responsibility becomes much heavier.



You cannot take away a person's freedom and then abandon your responsibility for his safety.



This is why deaths in custody must never be treated as ordinary statistics. Every death raises questions about the conditions of detention, medical care, overcrowding, supervision, use of force, and the conduct of officials responsible for those detainees.



And the investigation must not stop at identifying the immediate cause of death. It must establish how the situation happened, who knew what, what warnings were ignored, and whether any official or institutional failure contributed to the tragedy. 

What should happen now?
The investigation must be transparent, independent, and evidence-driven. Forensic autopsies should be conducted, relevant CCTV footage and custody records preserved, surviving detainees interviewed, and every officer involved properly investigated.



More importantly, Nigeria needs a stronger system of independent monitoring of detention facilities, regular inspection of holding cells, proper documentation of arrests, and medical screening of detainees. Because justice is not only about punishing the guilty. Sometimes, justice begins with ensuring that the next person who is arrested comes out alive to face his day in court.



A country committed to human rights must never allow a “suspect” to become synonymous with “disposable.” Every person in custody remains a human being. And the locked door of a detention cell must never become a locked door against accountability.