Lagos, Sept 20. (dpa/GNA) – Relatives of thirty-seven people who died in custody in central Nigeria, protested for a second day on Friday, with police using tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.
The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) said the suspects, had been arrested on September 15 and 16, in mineral-rich Niger State, on suspicion of illegal mining.
“However, in the early hours of 17th September 2026, scores of the detained suspects were found dead, following a suspected outbreak of disease,” NSCDC commander Sikayu Aniviye said, without providing further details. Yet survivors said the detainees had been held in a very small cell, and died due to extreme heat and a lack of oxygen.
Six survivors told a local television station, they had banged on the cell door, but officers did not open it. “We watched as the victims died gradually,” one of them said.
Police said they would investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
Protests began on Thursday in Minna, the capital of Niger State, as relatives of the dead suspects demanded answers.
GNA