CGTN Africa
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu at the Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, August 25, 2025. /CFP
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has ordered the prosecution of any officials found culpable in the deaths of dozens of suspected illegal miners while in the custody of a security agency in the country's central Niger State.
According to local authorities, at least 33 suspected illegal miners who were in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and undergoing investigation were found dead at a detention facility in the state capital, Minna, early Thursday.
In a statement, Tinubu expressed deep concern over the deaths and mourned the miners, saying the life of every Nigerian matters and that no citizen should lose their life while in government custody due to negligence, abuse, inhumane treatment or dereliction of duty.
"Where the investigation establishes that any official, through action, abuse or negligence, contributed to these deaths, such an officer must be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law," Tinubu said, calling for "accountability" as the investigation into the deaths continues.
The suspected illegal miners were arrested ...