Minna, Niger State – In the wake of a tragic incident that left 37 suspected illegal miners dead in custody, a group of teenage and adult miners returned to the M.I. Wushishi mining site on Saturday, declaring they were “ready to die here” as they resumed digging for gold.
The mass operation by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on 15 and 16 September around the Lt. Gen. Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi Estate led to the arrest of scores of miners. Suberu Aniviye, the suspended NSCDC commandant in Niger State, later confirmed that many of those detained were found dead in the early hours of Thursday, a death toll the corps attributed to a suspected disease outbreak.
Despite the arrests and the loss of life, miners were seen on the site on Saturday, working with shovels, picks and hand tools. Salisu DanMallam, who has mined in the area for more than 15 years, said he had stayed away for two days after the raid, but the loss of income forced him back. “If you don’t come out for a day or two you will feel it because there are no profitable jobs,” he told reporters. He described the miners as a family, noting that they “treat each other like family here.”
“I was informed earlier that the officers were coming. One of the women informed us, and we left,” said 26‑year‑old Buhari Rabiu. “Not long after we left, we heard that civil defence was arresting us.” He added that he had previously been arrested and assaulted by NSCDC personnel, sustaining injuries that required hospital treatment before he was released after his parents intervened. “N120,000 was collected for my release,” Rabiu said.
The return to the site highlights the economic pressures on the informal mining community. Many miners have few alternatives to the activity, and the risk of landslides means they avoid digging beyond knee level. DanMallam also noted that he had worked as a driver for a block‑making business but found it unprofitable compared with mining.
At the time of the visit, no security personnel were seen on the M.I. Wushishi site, and piles of freshly dug earth and muddy soil were scattered across the area. The circumstances surrounding the deaths of the 37 detained miners remain a subject of concern, with the NSCDC maintaining that the deaths followed a suspected disease outbreak. The miners’ return underscores the ongoing tension between livelihood needs and law enforcement in Niger State’s informal mining sector.
<small>Source: Vanguard News — read the original story there.</small>
