Minna 37: Detention Is Not Supposed to be a Death Sentence
By Abdulrazaq Sule, Esq.
On the night of 17 September 2026, 37 people reportedly died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State.
They had reportedly been arrested days earlier during raids on suspected illegal mining sites. They were not convicted of any offence. Yet they did not leave the detention facility alive.
The circumstances surrounding their deaths demand urgent and transparent investigation.
What happened in Minna is not simply a story about overcrowding. It raises fundamental questions about detention conditions, state responsibility, due process and the protection of human dignity in custody.
The Arrest and Detention
Between 15 and 16 September 2026, NSCDC operatives reportedly conducted operations in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas near Minna, targeting suspected artisanal mining activities.
Authorities have long raised concerns about unregulated mining in Nigeria, including environmental damage, lost revenue, communal conflict and organised criminal activity.
However, allegations of illegal mining do not remove the constitutional rights of people taken into custody.
Reports indicate that scores of people were arrested and taken to an NSCDC detention facility in Minna. Some reports have also raised concerns that teenagers, including alleged minors, were among those detained.
37 People Died in Custody
Survivor accounts describe severe overcrowding inside the detention cell.
The cell was reportedly only a few metres in length and width, yet approximately 65 to 67 people were allegedly held inside.
One survivor reportedly recalled that detainees who complained about the conditions were told to “sleep standing up.”
The conditions reportedly became increasingly unbearable. With limited ventilation, high temperatures and large numbers of people confined in a small space, detainees allegedly struggled to breathe.
Survivors said they banged on the door and pleaded for water and air.
According to these accounts, an unidentified substance was later sprayed inside the cell. Survivors described its smell as similar to perfume or fragrance and said that people subsequently began fainting and struggling to breathe.
These accounts require independent forensic investigation.
Reports indicate that 33 people died inside the cell, while four others later died in hospital.
Among those reportedly killed was 25-year-old Sulieman Mohammed, a motorcycle mechanic whose father arrived with food the following morning, only to discover that his son had died.
What Happened Inside the Cell?
The precise cause of death remains a matter for investigation.
The NSCDC initially reportedly suggested that a disease outbreak may have been responsible. Survivors, relatives and other reports have raised a different possibility, pointing to overcrowding, inadequate ventilation, heat, dehydration, alleged neglect and the reported use of an unidentified substance.
These competing accounts make an independent investigation essential.
The question is simple:
What happened inside that cell, and why were 37 people unable to get out alive?
Detention Does Not Mean the Loss of Human Rights
The people detained in Minna were reportedly suspected of illegal mining. Being suspected of an offence does not mean being guilty of it.
The Nigerian Constitution protects personal liberty and guarantees fair hearing in the determination of rights and obligations.
The principle is fundamental: a person should not be punished for an offence before being lawfully tried and convicted.
More importantly, once the state takes a person into custody, it assumes responsibility for that person’s safety and wellbeing.
That responsibility does not disappear because the person is accused of an offence.
A Wider Crisis in Nigeria’s Detention System
The Minna deaths also raise broader concerns about Nigeria’s detention system.
Overcrowding, prolonged pretrial detention, inadequate facilities and limited access to healthcare have remained persistent challenges.
There are also concerns about the detention of children and young people alongside adults, despite legal protections requiring children to receive special treatment.
Nigeria’s legal framework provides for non-custodial measures in appropriate circumstances. Yet detention continues to be used extensively, placing additional pressure on already inadequate facilities.
The Minna tragedy should therefore be treated not only as an isolated incident, but as a warning about systemic weaknesses in the country’s criminal justice and detention systems.
The Human Cost of Illegal Mining Enforcement
There is also a difficult socioeconomic dimension to the incident.
Many artisanal miners operate in conditions of poverty and limited economic opportunity. While illegal mining can cause serious environmental and security problems, enforcement must still respect the rights and dignity of those arrested.
People suspected of offences must not become expendable simply because they are poor, young or socially marginalised.
Law enforcement and accountability must go hand in hand with humane treatment.
What Accountability Requires
The families of the 37 people who died deserve more than condolences.
They deserve answers.
A credible investigation should establish:
- The precise cause of each death.
- The conditions inside the detention facility.
- The number of people detained in the cell.
- Whether medical assistance was requested or available.
- What substance, if any, was released into the cell.
- Who authorised or carried out any such action.
- Whether officers responded appropriately to detainees’ calls for help.
- Whether applicable detention standards were followed.
- Whether any individual or institutional failures contributed to the deaths.
Where wrongdoing is established, those responsible should face appropriate consequences.
Detention Is Not a Death Sentence
The deaths in Minna should force Nigeria to confront a basic principle:
When the state takes away a person’s liberty, it assumes a heightened duty to protect that person’s life and dignity.
Detention is not supposed to be a death sentence.
The 37 people who died had names, families, aspirations and futures.
They were more than numbers in a detention facility.
Their deaths demand a transparent investigation, meaningful accountability and reforms that prevent another tragedy of this scale.
Nigeria must ensure that detention facilities are adequately equipped, detainees receive necessary medical care, minors are separated from adults, cells are not dangerously overcrowded, and non-custodial measures are genuinely used where appropriate.
References:
- Minna: Murder of 37 young persons a crime against humanity – SAN, lawyer – Blueprint Newspapers – 20 September 2026 – https://blueprint.ng/minna-murder-of-37-young-persons-a-crime-against-humanity-san-lawyer/
- 33 Died in a Minna Cell: The Survivor’s Account – Congo Times – 25-28 September 2026 – https://congotimes.com/2026/09/25/minna-cell-deaths-survivor-breaks-his-silence/
- Death Behind Bars: When Detention Becomes A Death Sentence – Olufunke Baruwa – Leadership – 23-24 September 2026 – https://leadership.ng/death-behind-bars-when-detention-becomes-a-death-sentence/