Horror in NSCDC cell of death in Minna

- Dozens of detainees, including 65 suspected illegal miners, died while crammed into an overcrowded NSCDC cell in Minna, Niger State, with survivors describing suffocation and dehydration; some bodies showed foam, bloodstains, and peeling skin, prompting a national investigation. - President Tinubu condemned the deaths, ordered a comprehensive inquiry into arrests, custody conditions, and the events leading to the fatalities, while authorities consider possible lead poisoning and disputed circumstances surrounding the deaths.

Horror in NSCDC cell of death in Minna # Horror in NSCDC cell of death Top Stories September 19, 2026 1:03 am Ismaeel Uthman, Chika Otuchikere, Yusuf Oketola and Vera Alkali At first, Dauda Shehu and other detainees struggled to find space inside the cell. Then, according to him, they began struggling for something more basic — air. Shehu was one of 65 suspected illegal miners allegedly crammed into a cell at the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps office in Minna, Niger State, after their arrests on September 15 and 16. For three days, the detainees reportedly remained in custody. But what happened inside the cell has now become the subject of a national investigation after at least 37 were confirmed dead. Shehu, an indigene of Allawa in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, survived. His account of those terrifying moments paints a picture of men trapped in an allegedly poorly ventilated enclosure, desperately searching for air and banging on the door as fellow detainees began to suffocate. “All of a sudden, we realised that we could not breathe and we were all struggling for where to get fresh air,” Shehu said. As panic spread through the cell, he said the detainees screamed for help. They banged on the door. Again and again, they called out to the NSCDC officers. But according to Shehu, nobody came to their rescue. “We even appealed to the officers several times; we banged the cell door but they refused to answer us,” he alleged. “Even when we raised the alarm that some people were being suffocated, nobody answered us. They…

read it at punchng.com