19/09/2026
URGENT PRESS RELEASE.
WOMEN IN MINING NIGERIA (WIMIN) CONDEMNS THE TRAGIC DEATH
OF 37 ARTISANAL MINERS IN NSCDC CUSTODY IN MINNA; DEMANDS
JUSTICE, ARTISANAL FORMALISATION, AND URGENT HUMAN RIGHTS
REFORMS
ABUJA, NIGERIA — September 19, 2026 —
Women in Mining Nigeria (WIMIN) strongly condemns the tragic and preventable
deaths of 37 artisanal miners who lost their lives while in the custody of the
Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State.
The victims were among scores of individuals arrested during recent enforcement
operations on September 15 and 16 in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas.
WIMIN extends its deepest condolences to the grieving families, particularly the
devastated mothers and women who have lost their sons, brothers, and primary
breadwinners to this horrific incident. Reports indicating that many of the deceased
were teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18 make this catastrophe even more
heartbreaking.
Condemning Inhumane Custodial Conditions and State Response
While the NSCDC initially attributed the mass casualty to an unverified "disease
outbreak," distressing accounts from survivors and intelligence reports point firmly
to severe overcrowding, extreme heat, dehydration, and suffocation within a poorly
ventilated facility holding up to 65 individuals in a single cell. Survivors recounted banging on the doors for help while their peers collapsed, requests that were
tragically ignored by guards on duty.
WIMIN aligns with the positions of the National Human Rights Commission
(NHRC) and the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in
stating that every human being, regardless of the allegations against them, is
entitled to due process and the fundamental right to life. Criminalising poverty and
utilizing lethal containment strategies against artisanal miners is an arbitrary
deprivation of life and an affront to international human rights standards.
Speaking on the tragedy, the Founder and National President of WIMIN, Engr.
Janet Adeyemi, stated:
"We cannot continue to use iron fists and lethal containment strategies against
young citizens who are driven into mining pits by the sheer desperation for
survival. Mining, for these teenagers and young men, is an escape from hunger
and extreme hardship. It is a profound injustice to criminalise poverty. When the
state treats the desperate quest for a livelihood as a capital offense—resulting in
the suffocation and death of dozens in custody—we have failed fundamentally as a
nation. The government must shift its focus from aggressive militarisation to
human-centric formalisation."
Furthermore, WIMIN strongly condemns the subsequent use of force and tear gas
against grieving families and community members who took to the streets of
Minna demanding answers.
Grounding the Crisis in Socio-Economic Reality: The Statistics of Poverty and
Minerals in Niger State
WIMIN emphasizes that the actions of these young men cannot be viewed in
isolation from the crushing poverty that plagues the region. According to official
data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Niger State experiences a
severe socio-economic deficit:
• 69.1% Multidimensional Poverty Rate: Nearly 7 out of every 10 residents in
Niger State live in multidimensional poverty, meaning they are
systematically deprived of basic healthcare, education, and adequate living
standards.
• 72.8% Extreme Poverty Level: World Bank data indicates that 72.8% of the
state's population lives below the baseline extreme poverty line ($2.15/day),
rising sharply to 92.9% living under $3.65 a day.
• The Pull of Wealth Beneath the Soil: Niger State sits on vastly rich deposits
of gold, lithium, and tantalite. These high-value minerals create an inevitable
beacon of economic hope for a desperate population. With thousands of
families suffering from severe food insecurity and basic infrastructure
deficits, the extraction of these minerals by hand is not a choice of leisure, it
is a mandatory lifeline for day-to-day survival.WIMIN’s Recommendations to the Government to Prevent Future Occurrences
To address the root causes of this crisis and ensure that such an institutional failure
never happens again, WIMIN urges the Federal Government of Nigeria and the
Niger State Government to take the following immediate actions:
1. Conduct an Independent, Transparent Judicial Inquiry: While WIMIN
acknowledges the suspension of the Niger State NSCDC Commandant and
the initiation of a police probe, we demand a fully independent judicial panel
of inquiry. The autopsies at the Minna General Hospital must be monitored
by independent medical experts to provide absolute transparency to the
families.
2. Prosecute and Hold Perpetrators Accountable: Anyone found guilty of
negligence, duty failure, or the abuse of power within the detention facility
must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
3. Comprehensive Overhaul of Detention Conditions: The Ministry of Interior
must launch an immediate audit of all paramilitary and security agency
detention cells nationwide to eradicate overcrowding, ensure humane
ventilation, and establish strict protocols for emergency medical responses.
4. Shift from Criminalisation to Formalisation: Government must recognize
that economic survival is driving youth into mining pits. Instead of treating
artisanal mining solely as a criminal enterprise to be suppressed by gunpoint,
the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development must accelerate the
formalisation, organization, and cooperative bundling of artisanal miners
started. Providing them with legal frameworks, training, and safer equipment
will safeguard both state assets and human lives. The Ministry must also
ensure that the good initiatives of the ministry is not destroyed by
overzealous mining marshals who are not trained to manage such crisis.
5. Protect Vulnerable Children and Support Bereaved Families: The state must
enforce stricter child labor protections within the mining sector, providing
educational alternatives so that teenagers are not driven to dangerous mining
pits. The government must also adequately compensate the affected families
for the loss of their loved ones.
About Women in Mining Nigeria (WIMIN):
Women in Mining Nigeria (WIMIN) is a non-profit organization dedicated to
advocating for the rights,training, safety, formalisation, and economic
empowerment of women and youth within the solid minerals sector across Nigeria.
