A surviving suspected illegal miner has alleged that an unidentified substance resembling perfume was sprayed inside an overcrowded Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps cell shortly before detainees began collapsing.
The survivor made the allegation on Friday while speaking in Hausa during a visit to Niger State by Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo and Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago.
According to him, 17 people were initially locked inside the cell before additional detainees were brought in.
He said the detainees complained that the room was too small and hot but were kept inside as more people were added.
“They locked us in a very small room. We were 17 in number. Then they added more people. And we started complaining that the room was small. The room was very hot,” he said.
The survivor alleged that as officers prepared to lock the cell, a substance that looked like perfume was sprayed inside.
He said the smell quickly became disturbing and people began falling down.
“As they were about to lock the room, they sprayed something that looked like perfume, and the smell started disturbing everyone in the room, and that’s how people started falling down,” he said.
The survivor further alleged that the heat inside the cell became unbearable and detainees pleaded for water.
“The room became extremely hot. We pleaded with them to give us water, but they said no one would open the door for us that same night,” he said.
Another survivor reportedly said he survived because he was near the entrance of the cell, where he could breathe more easily.
The allegation has not been independently established, and authorities have not confirmed what substance, if any, was sprayed inside the cell.
The actual cause of the deaths also remains unknown as investigations and medical examinations continue.
The incident involves the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners detained by the NSCDC after enforcement operations around the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State on September 15 and 16.
Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, said 67 artisanal and suspected illegal miners had been detained before 37 died in custody.
The NSCDC initially suggested that a suspected disease outbreak could have caused the deaths but later said the actual cause had not been established.
Bago said possible suffocation from overcrowding and exposure to hazardous substances were among the issues being investigated.
President Bola Tinubu has ordered a full and transparent investigation into the deaths and directed that officials found to have contributed through action, abuse or negligence be prosecuted.
The Niger State NSCDC Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.
The deaths have also triggered protests in Minna, prompting the state government to impose a curfew as authorities work to restore calm.
Investigators are expected to examine the survivor’s account alongside medical, forensic and other evidence to establish what happened inside the detention facility.
