Armed security personnel have been deployed across Minna, Niger State, following protests over the deaths of dozens of suspected illegal gold miners while in the custody of a paramilitary civil defence unit.
The deployment came after demonstrations erupted in the city, with residents protesting the deaths and demanding answers over the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Survivors have described scenes of panic inside the detention facility, saying several detainees struggled to breathe and repeatedly called for help.
One survivor, who asked not to be identified, said detainees raised the alarm as people began collapsing.
“We were screaming for help,” the survivor said, adding that they told guards that “people are dying one after the other”, but their pleas were allegedly ignored.
Another survivor said detainees repeatedly warned authorities that some people were suffocating.
“Several times, we raised alarm that some people are already dying because of suffocation, nobody answered us,” the survivor said.
The deaths triggered unrest in Minna, with police reportedly firing shots to disperse protesters as tensions escalated.
Authorities have yet to establish publicly the full circumstances surrounding the deaths, while calls have grown for an investigation into the incident and the treatment of those detained.
The incident has also drawn attention to the security challenges associated with illegal mining in parts of Niger State.
Officials and security experts have linked competition for gold deposits extracted from illegal mining sites to violence involving criminal groups operating in the area.
The latest unrest has heightened concerns over illegal mining, the safety of detainees and the conduct of security operations as authorities move to restore calm in Minna.
