Experts Begin Probe Into Deaths of 37 Miners in Niger State

Forensic experts have begun investigating the deaths of 37 people who reportedly died after being arrested at an illegal mining site in Niger State, with authorities yet to establish the exact cause of death.

The Niger State Governor, Mohammed Bago, disclosed this during an interview with journalists.

With the circumstances surrounding the deaths still unclear, Governor Bago said forensic experts were on the ground examining the evidence.

He said the state government was not informed about the arrests carried out at the site, identified as the M.I. Wushishi Housing Estate, where artisanal and illegal mining activities had reportedly been taking place.

According to Governor Bago, the Niger State chapter of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC arrested the individuals and took them into custody.

He said the circumstances surrounding the deaths remain unclear, although preliminary information has pointed to possible suffocation caused by overcrowding in one of the cells.

“Suffocation can be one of them, which is mostly the direction,” he said.

“However, because it’s an illegal mining site, and mining is also attributed to a lot of toxins and also poisoning, we’re not ruling out any of these reasons.”

He explained that three cells were involved, with no reported problems in the first two adding that the cell where the deaths occurred already had inmates before additional detainees were brought in.

The government urged the public to await the outcome of the investigation before drawing conclusions about what caused the deaths.