At least 33 illegal mining suspects found dead in Nigerian custody, and officials suspect disease
At least 33 suspects arrested for alleged illegal mining have been found dead in Nigerian security custody
ABUJA, Nigeria -- At least 33 suspects arrested for alleged illegal mining were found dead in Nigerian security custody on Thursday, officials said, pointing to a suspected disease outbreak in the area.
The detainees died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, or NSCDC, in north-central Niger state, its spokesman Abubakar Muti told The Associated Press.
They had been in detention since the security agency carried out arrests on Tuesday and Wednesday over suspicion of illegal mining in the state, head of the NSCDC in Niger Suberu Siyaka Aniviye said in a statement on Thursday.
Aniviye said while the agency suspects a disease, the detainees’ bodies have been sent to a local hospital for “further medical examination to establish the actual cause of death.