Nigerian forces fire at protesters rallying over deaths of detained miners

Government has promised to fully investigate after 37 miners died while being held in police custody in Niger state.

A relative of one of the 37 miners who died in detention at Minna General Hospital in Niger State [Ibrahim Ndamitso/Reuters]

Security forces in Nigeria have opened fire and deployed tear gas during protests over the deaths in detention of 37 miners .

Demonstrators rallied in their hundreds in the mineral-rich city of Minna in Niger State during a second day of protests on Friday, with some attacking government facilities.

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It was not immediately clear whether troops fired live ammunition or anti-riot pellets, but a witness told the Reuters news agency that bullets had been used and the body of one person lay on the ground.

Officials announced on Thursday that the 37 miners had died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), a paramilitary agency. The miners were arrested earlier this week during raids in the Wushishi-Lukoto area, west of Minna, on suspicion of illegal mining.

A 24-hour curfew was imposed by state governor Umar Bago on Friday, while the government promised to fully investigate the 37 deaths.

Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris, reporting from Abuja, said Friday’s protest violence targeted mostly government facilities in the state capital. But it “died down” after the imposition of the curfew.

“There were violent outbreaks across many parts of the country’s Niger State. There were attacks on government buildings and officials in the capital of the state,” Idris said.

“One of the areas that was targeted was the transport agency where buses and other vehicles were damaged by protesters who were angry at what happened in the Security and Civil Defence Corps detention centre.”

Relatives of men arrested on suspicion of illegal mining outside a hospital in Minna, September 17, 2026 [Muhammed Nura/AP]

The NSCDC initially suggested that the miners may have been killed by an outbreak of disease, but has since clarified that the cause of death is yet to be confirmed. The NSCDC said further investigations will be conducted, including medical examinations.

However, all of the deceased were buried on Thursday evening, raising questions about whether post-mortems will still be possible.

The AFP news agency said it had seen an intelligence report suggesting that the deaths may have been caused by poor ventilation in the cells and overcrowding. Some protesters also told the Associated Press that the miners had suffocated.

Some survivors recounted their panic on Friday, saying they struggled to breathe inside the cell.

“We were jam-packed in the cell, no ventilation for us to breathe well,” Dauda Shehu told journalists at a central Nigerian hospital. “All of a sudden we realised that we could not breathe and we were all scampering for where to get fresh air, we even appealed to them several times, banged the cell door, but they refused to answer us.”

The NSCDC’s commandant in Niger State, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, has been suspended by Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, pending a full investigation.

“It is an unfortunate incident, however, a full investigation will be conducted while the commandant under whose watch this happened remains suspended,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Niger State is home to vast deposits of mineral resources, including gold and uranium and mining is a core part of the economy.

Illegal mining is common in Nigeria and has been blamed for fuelling violence among armed groups competing for control of the lucrative trade.

尼日尔州37名矿工在警方拘留期间死亡，政府承诺将对此事进行全面调查。

尼日尔州米纳综合医院拘留期间死亡的37名矿工之一的亲属 [Ibrahim Ndamitso/路透社]

尼日利亚安全部队在抗议37名矿工在拘留期间死亡的示威活动中开枪并使用催泪瓦斯。

周五，在尼日尔州矿产资源丰富的城市明纳，数百名示威者举行了第二天的抗议活动，其中一些人袭击了政府设施。

（共 3 个问题，第 1 个）在尼日利亚，什么时候家庭聚餐会变成一种奢侈？

（共3条，此为第2条）尼日利亚因南非反移民暴力事件暂停对南非的官方访问

尼日利亚警方调查37名非法采矿嫌疑人在拘留期间死亡事件（共3起，此为第3起）

目前尚不清楚部队发射的是实弹还是防暴弹丸，但一名目击者告诉路透社，使用了子弹，一具尸体躺在地上。

官员周四宣布，37名矿工在尼日利亚安全与民防部队（NSCDC，一个准军事机构）的拘留期间死亡。这些矿工本周早些时候在明纳以西的Wushishi-Lukoto地区因涉嫌非法采矿而被捕。

周五，州长乌马尔·巴戈宣布实施24小时宵禁，同时政府承诺将对37起死亡事件进行全面调查。

半岛电视台记者艾哈迈德·伊德里斯从阿布贾报道称，周五的抗议暴力事件主要针对州首府的政府设施。但宵禁实施后，暴力事件“逐渐平息”。

伊德里斯说：“尼日尔州多地爆发暴力冲突。该州首府的政府大楼和官员也遭到袭击。”

“抗议者的目标之一是交通运输机构，他们对安全与民防部队拘留中心发生的事情感到愤怒，抗议者的公共汽车和其他车辆遭到破坏。”

2026年9月17日，在明纳一家医院外，因涉嫌非法采矿而被捕男子的亲属们聚集在一起。[穆罕默德·努拉/美联社]

尼日利亚民防部队最初推测​​矿工可能死于疾病爆发，但随后澄清死因尚待确认。民防部队表示将进行进一步调查，包括医学检查。

然而，所有死者都在周四晚上被埋葬，这引发了人们对是否还能进行尸检的疑问。

法新社称，他们看到的一份情报报告显示，矿工死亡可能是由于牢房通风不良和过度拥挤造成的。一些抗议者也告诉美联社，矿工是窒息而死的。

一些幸存者回忆起周五的恐慌情景，称他们在牢房里呼吸困难。

“牢房里人挤人，没有通风，我们根本无法呼吸，”达乌达·谢胡在尼日利亚中部一家医院告诉记者。“突然间，我们意识到自己无法呼吸，我们都四处乱窜，想找个地方呼吸新鲜空气。我们甚至多次向他们求助，敲打牢房门，但他们拒绝回应。”

尼日利亚民防部队尼日尔州指挥官苏贝鲁·西亚卡·阿尼维耶已被内政部长奥卢布米·通吉-奥乔停职，等待全面调查。

内政部在一份声明中表示：“这是一起不幸的事件，但我们将进行全面调查，涉事指挥官已被停职。”

尼日尔州拥有丰富的矿产资源，包括黄金和铀，采矿业是该州经济的核心组成部分。

非法采矿在尼日利亚十分普遍，并被认为是导致武装团体为争夺利润丰厚的采矿业控制权而发生暴力冲突的原因之一。