Pro-democracy and human rights advocate, Austin Aigbe, has described the death of 37 suspected artisanal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, in Minna, Niger State, as a national human rights disaster that must not be swept under the carpet.
In a press statement issued in Abuja on Friday, September 19, 2026, Aigbe said he received the news with “profound shock, anger and disbelief.”
The 37 victims, arrested during coordinated enforcement operations in the Wushishi-Lukoto axis between September 15 and 16, died in the early hours of September 17, 2026, inside an NSCDC detention facility in Minna.
Aigbe said the men were in lawful custody of the Nigerian state, which owed them absolute duty of care under Sections 33 and 34 of the 1999 Constitution, the Anti-Torture Act 2017, and international human rights law.
“These young men were in the lawful custody of the Nigerian state. Their deaths are not just statistics. They are 37 lives extinguished under the watch of those mandated to protect lives and property,” he said.
The rights advocate faulted the initial explanation by the Niger State Command of the NSCDC that the deaths were due to disease outbreak, describing it as “insensitive and lacks credibility.”
He cited intelligence reports and testimonies from families pointing to suffocation, overcrowding and poor ventilation in the cells, which he said raise serious questions of torture and inhuman treatment.
Aigbe therefore made four demands:
*a.* An independent investigation that includes the National Human Rights Commission, Nigerian Bar Association, medical experts and civil society, with autopsy reports made public, not an internal NSCDC whitewash;
*b.* Accountability beyond suspension of the Niger State Commandant, with all duty officers investigated and prosecuted if culpable;
*c.* Justice and reparation for families of the deceased, including compensation and immediate health assessment or release of remaining detainees;
*d.* Urgent audit and reform of all NSCDC and police detention facilities nationwide.
“No Nigerian, however poor, however alleged to have committed an offence, deserves to die in a detention cell,” he stated, warning that when citizens die in custody without explanation, democracy itself is at risk.
“I stand in solidarity with the families in Minna and call on all citizens to demand that the wish of the people for justice prevails. We will not be silent,” he added.
The NSCDC headquarters had on Thursday announced a high-powered probe and suspension of the State Commandant, while ordering medical examination of bodies at the General Hospital, Minna.