Niger State Governor Umaru Bago has said he lacks control over federal security agencies and detention centres after 37 suspected illegal miners died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Bago said state officials were not informed before the arrests that led to the detentions in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas. “I am just chief security of the state by mouth,” he said, adding: “I cannot take an oath for what I cannot control.”
Authorities say 67 artisanal and suspected illegal miners were detained during anti-illegal mining operations. Thirty-seven of those detainees later died in custody. The exact causes of death are under investigation; officials are examining overcrowding and possible exposure to hazardous substances among other factors. The Department of State Services (DSS) and the police are conducting inquiries.
Bago said he had visited the detention site after the deaths and found “a lot of corpses on the floor,” noting that some of the dead were not miners. He also described the location of the arrests as a housing estate rather than a licensed mine.
The Federal Government has suspended Niger State NSCDC Commandant Suberu Aniviye and 20 other officers pending the outcome of an independent inquiry. Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has set up a 10-member committee to investigate the arrests, the identities of the deceased, the circumstances of their detention and the causes of death.
Beyond the immediate deaths, Bago said the mining crisis has strained the state’s social and economic fabric. He warned that many residents are abandoning farming for artisanal mining — and that children are increasingly drawn into the trade. The governor called on the federal government to take decisive action, including issuing an executive order to ban mining in locations where illegal activity has become entrenched.
Bago reiterated that the state’s ability to act is limited without stronger federal intervention in both security operations and mining regulation.
