The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has demanded a thorough, independent, transparent and credible investigation into the deaths of 37 people arrested on suspicion of illegal mining who subsequently died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State.Compare Legal Plans<\/p>\n
In a statement dated September 19, 2026, NBA President, Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, FCIArb, said the Association deliberately refrained from immediately commenting on the cause of the deaths because it did not want to reach conclusions before medical, forensic and investigative evidence became available. She, however, stressed that the NBA\u2019s initial restraint should not be interpreted as indifference to the deaths.<\/p>\n
Reports of the deaths emerged in the early hours of Thursday, September 17. While Reuters initially reported that 33 bodies had been deposited at the General Hospital, Minna mortuary, Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago later confirmed that 37 people had died. Badejo-Okusanya expressed the Association\u2019s condolences to the families of the deceased, as well as the people and government of Niger State, and wished survivors a recovery from what she described as a deeply traumatic experience.Run Background Checks<\/p>\n
\u201cThirty-seven lives have been lost. Thirty-seven families are grieving. And whatever the circumstances that led to their arrest, these were 37 Nigerians who entered the custody of the NSCDC alive and who, while in that custody, were entitled to the protection of the law and to the preservation of their lives and human dignity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The NBA acknowledged the initial steps taken by the authorities, including the suspension of the Niger State NSCDC Commandant and the summoning of senior officers. It also noted investigations by the NSCDC and Niger State Government, the intervention of the Nigeria Police Force, the deployment of a team by the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development and the involvement of the Minister of Interior. The Association further noted the directive for a full investigation and for anyone found responsible through abuse, negligence or dereliction of duty to be held accountable.Claim Military Discounts<\/p>\n
While describing the initial government response as prompt and commendable, the NBA warned that announcing investigations was only the beginning.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe true measure of the response will ultimately not be the speed with which investigations are announced, but rather the independence and thoroughness with which they are conducted, the transparency with which their findings are made known, and the accountability that follows from those findings,\u201d the Association said.<\/p>\n
The NBA said investigators must establish how 37 people could die within such a short period in custody, the conditions under which they were detained, the number of people confined in the facility compared with its lawful capacity and the medical attention available to detainees. It also said investigators must determine what happened when detainees reportedly showed signs of distress and called for help, as well as the scientific cause of the deaths.Compare Legal Plans<\/p>\n
Badejo-Okusanya said survivor accounts alleging overcrowding, inadequate ventilation and troubling treatment of detainees must neither be accepted as established facts nor ignored.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NBA will not repeat allegations as established facts, nor will we prejudge those who may ultimately be called upon to answer for what occurred. But neither should credible allegations concerning overcrowding, lack of ventilation, the treatment of detainees and the circumstances immediately preceding the deaths be ignored. They must be investigated and either established or disproved by evidence,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The Association said the tragedy had also raised broader concerns about the treatment of suspects by Nigerian law-enforcement and security institutions. It warned against a culture in which wealthy or influential suspects may receive the restraint and courtesy guaranteed by law, while poor and vulnerable people without influence are treated as guilty from the moment of arrest.Book Grief Counseling<\/p>\n
According to the NBA, the constitutional presumption of innocence does not depend on wealth, status or influence.<\/p>\n
\u201cA suspect is not a convict, whether rich or poor, powerful or powerless. And the presumption of innocence is not an abstract phrase reserved for the courtroom. It must inform how the State treats every person from the very moment it takes away his or her liberty,\u201d the statement said. It said investigators must establish who heard any such cries, what those individuals knew, what action they took and when they acted.Run Background Checks<\/p>\n
The NBA also posed what it described as an uncomfortable wider question: \u201cWhy does the allegation that persons in distress could cry out from a detention cell and be ignored, sound so readily believable to so many Nigerians?\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the Association, the issue extends beyond the Niger State incident, as Nigerians have repeatedly complained about suspects being insulted, humiliated, threatened, brutalised or treated with unnecessary hostility by security agencies.<\/p>\n
It stressed that the State\u2019s responsibility increases rather than diminishes once a person has been deprived of liberty and can no longer simply walk away from danger.\u201c A person gasping for breath is not, at that moment, an \u2018illegal miner\u2019, an accused person or a case file.Nigerian Law Blog<\/p>\n
\u201cThat person is a human being in distress, and the first duty must be to save that life,\u201d the NBA said.<\/p>\n
The Association said professionalism in law enforcement should not be measured solely by arrests or prosecutions, but also by the restraint with which State power is exercised and the dignity and humanity shown to people in custody.<\/p>\n
\u201cA society committed to the rule of law does not ask whether suspects deserve compassion. It recognises that their humanity requires it,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n
The NBA also raised concern over reports and video evidence indicating that children were among those detained and among the deceased. It said media reports had identified some victims as teenagers, while information suggesting that even younger children may have been involved required official verification.Law Enforcement Equipment<\/p>\n
The Association demanded that investigators establish the identity and age of every person arrested and every person who died, as well as determine whether legal safeguards specifically applicable to children were observed.<\/p>\n
The NBA also questioned why children were allegedly working at the mining sites in the first place.<\/p>\n
It argued that where children were visibly among those apprehended, investigators must determine what protocols were followed in deciding whether they should have been detained.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf children were being used to perform mining labour, then our inquiry must go beyond whether they were engaged in \u2018illegal mining\u2019. We must establish who put them there, who controlled the mining operations and who profited from their labour,\u201d the NBA said.<\/p>\n
The Association added that a child found working at an illegal mining site could be a victim entitled to State protection rather than simply an offender against whom enforcement action should be taken.<\/p>\n
The NBA consequently broadened its demand beyond the circumstances of the deaths to include the ownership, financing and control of the mining operation itself.Compare Legal Plans<\/p>\n
It acknowledged that illegal mining is a serious national problem capable of depriving Nigeria of revenue, damaging communities and the environment and, in some circumstances, facilitating organised crime.<\/p>\n
The Association therefore expressed support for lawful enforcement of Nigeria\u2019s mining laws but insisted that enforcement must not end with poor labourers physically working at mining sites.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere illegal mining operations are organised, financed or commercially exploited by other persons, the law must also reach those who own, finance, control and ultimately profit from those operations,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
The NBA warned that poverty and vulnerability must not result in labourers becoming the easiest people to arrest while those allegedly organising or profiting from unlawful mining activities remain beyond the reach of law enforcement.<\/p>\n
It therefore asked the authorities to establish the ownership and control of the mining operations involved in the Niger incident and, where criminal offences are disclosed, pursue everyone in the chain of responsibility \u201cwithout fear or favour.\u201d<\/p>\n
Badejo-Okusanya also announced that the NBA would conduct its own monitoring of the case rather than remain a spectator.Run Background Checks<\/p>\n
The Association has constituted a team headed by Jonathan Gunu Taidi, SAN, a former General Secretary of the NBA and Senior Advocate resident in Minna, alongside members of the NBA Minna Branch.<\/p>\n
The team will meet and commiserate with the families of the deceased, engage with surviving detainees and their relatives and attempt, as far as possible, to independently establish the circumstances surrounding the arrests, detention and deaths.<\/p>\n
It will also engage relevant authorities and monitor the investigations currently underway.<\/p>\n
The NBA demanded the preservation of all relevant evidence, proper forensic and medical investigations and protection for survivors and other material witnesses so they can give evidence without intimidation.<\/p>\n
It also asked that investigation findings be made public to the fullest extent permitted by law.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere the evidence discloses criminal or other legal responsibility, we expect those responsible to be brought before the law, irrespective of rank or office,\u201d the Association said.<\/p>\n
Badejo-Okusanya said the NBA would also monitor any prosecution arising from the incident, both to ensure justice for the deceased and to protect the fair-trial rights of anyone eventually charged.Book Grief Counseling<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd when that process reaches the courts, the Nigerian Bar Association will be there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will monitor any prosecutions arising from this incident to ensure that justice is pursued for those who died and also that every defendant is afforded the fair trial our Constitution guarantees.\u201d<\/p>\n
While acknowledging public anger over the deaths, the NBA appealed for calm and urged citizens to allow investigations to continue without violence or destruction.<\/p>\n
The Association said the central fact requiring answers remained that 37 Nigerians entered government custody alive but never returned to their families.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that 37 Nigerians went into government custody and did not return to their families alive demands answers, and those answers must come from evidence, not conjecture; and from a process that commands public confidence, not one that merely manages public outrage,\u201d Badejo-Okusanya said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Nigerian Bar Association will follow that process closely and insist on the truth. We will insist on accountability where responsibility is established.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we will insist that, whatever a person\u2019s station in life and whatever offence he or she may be suspected of committing, the dignity and life of every Nigerian in the custody of the State remain inviolable.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has demanded a thorough, independent, transparent and credible investigation into the deaths of 37 people arrested on suspicion of illegal mining who subsequently died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State.Compare Legal Plans In a statement dated September 19, 2026, NBA […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":92437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t