RismadarVoice Reporters
September 20, 2026
Women in Mining Nigeria has called for an independent investigation into the deaths of 37 suspected artisanal miners while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Niger State.
The organisation, known as WIMIN, condemned the incident and expressed condolences to the families of the deceased, particularly women who lost sons, husbands, brothers and other relatives who served as breadwinners.
WIMIN said reports that some of the deceased were teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18 made the circumstances surrounding the incident particularly concerning.
The organisation also questioned an initial explanation attributed to the NSCDC that the deaths followed a disease outbreak.
According to WIMIN, accounts it received from survivors and other available information raised questions over whether overcrowding, excessive heat, dehydration and poor ventilation may have contributed to the deaths.
The group alleged that as many as 65 detainees were held in a single poorly ventilated cell and further claimed that calls for assistance were ignored as some detainees became distressed.
These allegations have not been established as the definitive cause of the deaths, with investigations and medical examinations expected to determine what happened.
WIMIN said an independent inquiry was necessary to establish the facts and determine whether any individual or institution should be held responsible.
GROUP CONDEMNS REPORTED TREATMENT OF PROTESTERS
The organisation also criticised reports that security personnel used force and tear gas against relatives and community members who protested in Minna following the deaths.
It maintained that allegations of involvement in illegal mining should not deprive suspects of their rights to life, due process and humane treatment while in custody.
“Criminalising poverty and utilising lethal containment strategies against artisanal miners is an arbitrary deprivation of life and an affront to international human rights standards,” the organisation said.
WIMIN argued that the incident should also prompt examination of the economic circumstances that push residents of mining communities towards informal mineral extraction.
WIMIN CALLS FOR CHANGE IN MINING POLICY
Founder and National President of WIMIN, Janet Adeyemi, called for a reassessment of the government’s approach to illegal and informal mining activities.
Adeyemi said economic hardship had pushed many young people into artisanal mining as a means of survival.
“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,” she said.
“Mining, for these teenagers and young men, is an escape from hunger and extreme hardship.”
The organisation advocated a human-centred approach to formalising artisanal mining rather than relying predominantly on enforcement and criminal sanctions.
WIMIN demanded an independent and transparent judicial inquiry into the deaths and called for the prosecution of anyone found responsible following investigations.
The organisation also called for improved conditions in detention facilities, stronger child protection measures in mining communities and greater efforts to bring artisanal miners into the formal economy.
It further urged authorities to provide educational alternatives for vulnerable children and teenagers in mining communities and support families affected by the deaths.
“The state must enforce stricter child labour 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,” WIMIN said.
The circumstances surrounding the deaths remain under investigation, with calls growing for authorities to establish the cause and determine whether any criminal or administrative responsibility arises from the incident.
