NLC Demands Accountability Over Deaths of 37 Suspected Miners in Niger Custody
By Kikelomo D.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for a transparent and independent investigation into the deaths of 37 persons who died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State, demanding that anyone found responsible for the deaths be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
The labour centre, in a statement signed by its President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, said the victims were arrested during operations against suspected illegal mining activities in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State on September 15 and 16, before their deaths were reported on Thursday, September 17, 2026.
The NLC said it was particularly concerned by reports that several of those who died were young people, including minors, and urged the authorities to establish the circumstances surrounding their arrest, detention, treatment and eventual deaths.
“The Congress is deeply saddened and profoundly concerned by the manner in which these precious lives were lost,” the NLC said, while expressing condolences to the government and people of Niger State.
The circumstances surrounding the deaths remain subject to investigation, with the Federal Government having constituted an independent committee to establish the identities of the deceased, examine the circumstances of their arrest and detention, and determine the cause of death.
The NLC welcomed the government’s decision to initiate an investigation and suspend officers connected with the incident but stressed that administrative action alone would not be sufficient if the investigation establishes wrongdoing.
“Suspension must not substitute for accountability and justice,” the labour organisation said.
The statement places particular emphasis on the socioeconomic conditions that, according to the NLC, continue to push vulnerable Nigerians into illegal and hazardous forms of work.
The Congress argued that poverty, unemployment, underemployment and the absence of decent livelihood opportunities have contributed to the expansion of artisanal mining and other forms of vulnerable informal employment, particularly in rural communities.
It said the involvement of children and young people in hazardous mining activities should therefore not be addressed solely through enforcement operations without also tackling the economic circumstances that leave poor families dependent on informal sources of income.
“These were children and young people from working-class and peasant families, particularly families whose livelihoods depend on the informal economy,” the NLC said.
The labour organisation argued that when household incomes are insufficient to meet basic needs such as food, education and healthcare, families can be pushed towards whatever income-generating opportunities are available to them.
It said that reality should form part of the national response to illegal mining and child labour.
The NLC called for the investigation into the deaths to be comprehensive and transparent, including an examination of how the suspects were arrested, the conditions under which they were detained, the treatment they received while in custody and the circumstances leading to their deaths. It further demanded that the findings of the investigation be made public.
The labour centre also called for severe penalties against anyone found, through due process, to have been responsible for unlawful treatment, abuse, negligence or any other conduct that contributed to the deaths.
Beyond the immediate investigation, the NLC wants stronger regulation of artisanal and small-scale mining, including enforcement of occupational safety and health standards and the prohibition of hazardous child labour.
The Congress also called for trade unions, employers’ organisations, community representatives and civil society groups to be involved in the development and implementation of policies governing artisanal mining.
According to the labour centre, communities affected by mining policies should have a meaningful role in determining how the sector is regulated and how alternative economic opportunities are developed.
The NLC also urged the government to establish a comprehensive programme for removing children from hazardous mining activities while providing affected families with access to education, skills development, social protection and alternative sources of livelihood.
The demand reflects the labour organisation’s broader argument that child labour cannot be eliminated through enforcement alone.
Where families depend on children’s economic contributions, removing children from hazardous work without addressing household poverty can leave families vulnerable to returning to the same activities or moving into other forms of precarious labour.
The NLC consequently called for a coordinated national strategy to address what it described as the socioeconomic drivers of illegal mining, including rural poverty, youth unemployment, lack of decent work and inadequate social protection for informal workers.
The organisation said the Niger State deaths should be viewed within the wider challenges confronting Nigeria’s labour market.
“The Congress urges government to see this tragedy as part of the structural challenges confronting the Nigerian labour market, characterised by inequality, poverty wages, unemployment, underemployment, precarious work and the expansion of vulnerable informal employment,” the statement said.
The NLC maintained that addressing only the immediate consequences of illegal mining would not resolve the conditions that continue to drive vulnerable Nigerians into dangerous economic activities.
“We cannot continue to address the symptoms of these problems while ignoring their underlying causes,” the Congress said.
The investigation into the 37 deaths is now expected to establish the identities of the deceased and provide a clearer account of what occurred between their arrest and deaths.
For the NLC, however, the outcome of the investigation must go beyond establishing what happened. The labour organisation wants the findings to lead to accountability where wrongdoing is established and to broader measures aimed at preventing children and economically vulnerable Nigerians from being drawn into hazardous and unregulated work.
The case has consequently brought together two separate but interconnected concerns: the treatment of people in state custody and the wider socioeconomic conditions surrounding illegal mining and child labour in Nigeria.
Source for verification: NLC statement issued by the Nigeria Labour Congress and signed by President Comrade Joe Ajaero, September 2026.
