Nigeria: Tear Gas Fired at Protest Over 37 Miners' Custody Deaths

Police in Nigeria's Niger State fired tear gas at dozens of demonstrators who gathered on Friday to protest the deaths of 37 miners who died while in custody.

Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago confirmed on Thursday that the miners had died in detention. They had been arrested earlier in the week by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps on suspicion of illegal mining.

The civil defense corps attributed the deaths to a suspected disease outbreak. However, survivors said the miners suffocated, and protesters alleged the deaths were retaliation for earlier attacks on corps officers by some miners.

On Friday, young people, including miners and their relatives, assembled near the civil defense corps' office. Police cordoned off the area and used tear gas canisters in an attempt to scatter the crowd.

The Nigerian government suspended the commandant of the Niger State civil defense corps on Friday. The Minister of Interior said in a statement that the incident was unfortunate and that a full investigation would be conducted while the commandant under whose watch it happened remains suspended.

Illegal mining remains a significant challenge in Nigeria, where analysts say it funds the activities of armed groups, some of which control the mines.