For 15-year-old Musa, his involvement in gold mining began when he was just 10 years old.
Five years on, the teenager has dropped out of school and now spends his days searching for gold around Minna, saying poverty and the need to help his family left him with little choice.
“I want to go back to school, but there is no money to send me,” Musa told ZINGTIE during an interview on Wednesday, September 16, a day before the death of suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, in Minna.
Musa’s experience is similar to that of several young people whose accounts illustrate why the fight against illegal mining goes beyond arrests and enforcement raids.
Behind the mining pits are children who have abandoned classrooms, young people searching for daily income and families who regard gold mining as one of the few available means of putting food on the table.
The deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in NSCDC custody have drawn renewed attention to the issue, raising questions not only about the circumstances surrounding their deaths but also about why people, including children, continue to enter mining communities despite repeated enforcement efforts.
In Kuta, Shiroro Local Government Area, the impact of mining on education has become an increasing concern for some communities.
A school principal who spoke to ZINGTIE said several schools in parts of Shiroro had become largely deserted as children moved into mining, with some choosing the immediate financial returns from mining over remaining in school.
Some parents interviewed questioned the wisdom of keeping their children in school when they were struggling to provide basic necessities and could not be certain that graduation would lead to employment.
For such families, mining provides an immediate source of income that can help meet household expenses, pay school fees for some children and provide food.
This has created a difficult choice between pursuing education with uncertain long-term prospects and earning immediate income from mining.
Kudu, an 18-year-old from Chanchaga area of Minna, said mining had become a family activity, with his mother and siblings also involved.
He explained that income from the activity helps some families cover household expenses and school fees, although not all the children in such families remain in school.
Some miners told ZINGTIE that they could earn up to N20,000 on a good day, although their earnings could also be significantly lower or even zero.
For 22-year-old Muhammad, the risks involved in mining have not been enough to make him abandon the work, having spent about four years in the activity and viewing it as his means of daily survival.
He said death could occur anywhere and disclosed that he intended to return to mining after his release because he had no alternative source of income.
Fourteen-year-old Hassan, whose parents relocated from Kano to Minna more than two years ago, said he had not returned to school since arriving in the state and had spent roughly two years working in the mining sector.
Another young miner told ZINGTIE that he completed secondary school about four years ago but could not proceed with his education because of financial difficulties.
He said he turned to mining in an effort to raise money to resume his education while also helping his parents care for his five younger siblings.
Although their individual circumstances differ, the accounts point to the same underlying challenge: immediate survival is competing directly with long-term education.
Mining activities have also expanded into areas closer to residential communities and other spaces traditionally occupied by residents.
Residents of M.I. Wushishi and nearby communities told ZINGTIE that mining activities had damaged fences and affected properties, while some alleged that miners threatened residents who challenged their presence or attempted to prevent them from digging near their homes.
One resident, Peter Auta, alleged that miners attacked him after he confronted them and destroyed more than 500 blocks belonging to his fence.
He said he reported the incident to security agencies, but the mining activity continued.
The concerns have also been associated with the recurring cycle of arrests and subsequent releases.
Wasiu Abiodun, spokesperson of the Niger State Police Command, had previously described the repeated arrest and return of illegal miners to mining sites as “recycling them”.
The NSCDC has also disclosed that it arrested more than 100 suspected illegal miners in Niger State this year, with some prosecuted in court and some minors released on bail.
The most recent enforcement operation commenced on September 15 and continued into September 16 around the M.I. Wushishi/Lukoto Village mining axis.
The NSCDC described the exercise as a “burst operation”, saying scores of suspected illegal miners were arrested and several exhibits recovered.
ZINGTIE visited the area on September 16 and spoke with some of the miners after the NSCDC operation had driven them away from the mining site.
Several of those interviewed said they had been arrested during earlier operations but eventually returned to mining because they had no other means of earning an income.
Some also alleged that they were asked for as much as N500,000 for bail following their arrest, although they said negotiations could reduce the amount to between N15,000 and N25,000.
Two parents separately told ZINGTIE that they paid N500,000 while attempting to secure the release of their children after their arrest, but complained that their children were not released despite the payments.
ZINGTIE could not independently verify who received the money, the legal basis for the payments or whether the alleged sums represented authorised bail charges.
The NSCDC was contacted for clarification but had not responded before the report was filed.
The issue was also raised in Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago’s account of the incident.
The governor questioned why parents who allegedly paid N500,000 had not earlier reported the matter to the media or government, arguing that an earlier report could have alerted the authorities and allowed for intervention.
The September operation therefore took place against the backdrop of repeated enforcement exercises, arrests and the continued return of miners to the same communities.
For many of the young people interviewed, the possibility of arrest was not enough to break their dependence on mining because they still had to find ways to feed themselves and support their families once released.
The situation took a dramatic turn on Thursday, September 17, when the NSCDC announced that some of the suspected illegal miners detained after the operation had died.
The Corps initially attributed the deaths to a suspected disease outbreak but emphasised that the actual cause had yet to be conclusively established.
The Niger State Government later confirmed that 37 people had died and ordered investigations into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
One survivor, Dauda Shehu, said 65 detainees had been kept inside a poorly ventilated cell.
He alleged that the detainees struggled to get fresh air, with some of them repeatedly banging on the door.
Another survivor who spoke to ZINGTIE claimed that only four people survived among those held in the cell.
He alleged that the heat became unbearable and that detainees appealed to officers to open the door but were refused, adding that some resorted to drinking their own urine because of dehydration.
The survivor further alleged that the detainees continued banging on the door after some people began collapsing.
These allegations are among the issues expected to be examined as part of the ongoing investigations.
The NSCDC Commandant-General has ordered an investigation into the deaths, including the condition of the detainees when they were arrested, how long they remained in custody, the conditions under which they were detained, the medical care available to them and other circumstances surrounding the incident.
The bodies were transferred to the General Hospital, Minna, where clinical examinations and laboratory tests were to be conducted.
The hospital’s Medical Director, Dr Mohammed Danasabe, said the facility registered 37 bodies deposited by the NSCDC and also recorded the same number as having been transported out for burial.
News of the deaths prompted families to converge in search of relatives who had been arrested during the mining operation.
A video that circulated after the incident showed grieving relatives calling out the names of their children and attempting to identify the bodies.
Some relatives pointed to what they believed were injuries or burns on the bodies.
The remains were subsequently taken to communities where the deceased were believed to have originated, including Sabon-Titi, Maitumbi, Tunga, Chanchaga and Bosso, among others.
At the Islamic burial ground in Tunga, Malam Musa, who participated in the burial rites, said the ceremonies began at about 8 p.m. on Thursday and continued until 11 p.m., with further activities taking place on Friday.
Another eyewitness claimed that more than 60 people had died and alleged that some of the bodies had turned black due to a lack of oxygen.
The claim could not be independently verified and was inconsistent with the official death toll of 37 released by the Niger State Government.
The differing accounts have intensified calls for forensic examinations and a transparent investigation capable of establishing exactly what occurred inside the detention facility.
The deaths sparked protests that extended from the mining communities into several parts of Minna. The demonstrations began around Thursday night, with youths moving from areas around Alovera Hotel, Top Medical and M.I. Wushishi Junction through El-Amin University towards Maitumbi.
Residents said businesses and shops were abandoned as the protesters passed through the areas, while some alleged that protesters carried cutlasses and other dangerous weapons and threatened people who attempted to stop them.
Tension remained high by Friday morning.
Residents heading out for work and business activities became caught up in the unrest, with some returning home as markets and shops were forced to shut.
Movement around parts of Minna later showed that markets remained closed, while economic activities were largely paralysed as angry miners staged coordinated protests in different parts of the city.
A resident of M.I. Wushishi, Mrs Habiba, told ZINGTIE that residents remained awake throughout the night because of fears that the violence could spread into residential neighbourhoods.
Several gunshots were also heard in parts of Minna, particularly around Tunga, although ZINGTIE could not independently establish the source of the shots.
The unrest also led to the destruction of public property.
ZINGTIE correspondent who visited the Niger State Transport Authority, NSTA, facility observed more than 10 vehicles whose windows and windscreens had been damaged.
There were also allegations that a vehicle belonging to the coordinator of Islamic Schools to the Niger State Governor was destroyed at BY Supermarket in Tunga, while the official was allegedly assaulted and had his phones stolen.
The state government eventually imposed a six-hour curfew on Minna following the unrest, beginning after Friday prayers, with the governor directing businesses in the state capital to close.
Inspector-General of Police, IGP Rilwan Disu, visited Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago in Minna on Friday over the deaths and pledged that the police would thoroughly investigate the circumstances that led to the incident.
Disu described the deaths as tragic and said deaths in custody were a serious matter within the responsibility of the police, particularly given that 37 people had died.
He assured the governor that the police would work with the state government and the NSCDC during the investigation.
The IGP also appealed to residents to remain calm and warned against resorting to self-help following attacks on public and private property. He said police patrols would be strengthened across Minna and other towns to prevent a breakdown of law and order.
Bago said preliminary investigations were considering possible factors including overcrowding, suffocation and exposure to substances associated with mining. He stressed, however, that those observations were preliminary and did not represent the final cause of death.
The governor also said samples from the mining site would undergo examination while forensic procedures and autopsies continued.
He disclosed that all mining activities around the affected M.I. Wushishi site had been suspended and that experts from Abuja had been invited to inspect the area.
The Niger State Government has constituted a committee of inquiry headed by Deputy Governor Yakubu Garba to establish the root cause of the deaths.
The committee is expected to work alongside investigations being conducted by the police, DSS and NSCDC, while forensic examinations and autopsies are expected to determine the medical cause of death.
The NSCDC Niger State Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, and members of his team were suspended by the Corps’ Commandant-General to facilitate a proper investigation into the incident, while the State Police Command has also commenced its own probe.
The Niger State House of Assembly called for a comprehensive, impartial and transparent investigation, saying investigators should examine the condition of the detainees when they were arrested, the number of people detained, the length of their detention, the conditions of the facility, access to medical care and the definitive cause of death.
The Assembly maintained that although enforcement against illegal mining was legitimate, it must be carried out with respect for human life, dignity and fundamental rights.
Former military Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (retd.), also condemned the deaths and expressed sympathy to the families, affected communities, as well as the government and people of Niger State.
In a statement issued on his behalf by Dr Danladi Umar Abdulhameed, Babangida described the incident as deeply distressing and prayed for strength for the bereaved families.
He appealed to youths and relatives of the victims to remain calm and allow the ongoing investigations to proceed without interference.
Babangida stressed that a transparent inquiry was necessary to determine what happened and provide the affected families with clear answers.
The investigations now involve several institutions, while the government has also begun efforts to identify the families of those who died and provide assistance to them.
The immediate response has further included the suspension of mining activities in the state pending the outcome of investigations, increased security deployment and measures aimed at containing the unrest in Minna.
The situation in Niger State raises a broader national question about the limits of enforcement when poverty continues to drive people towards illegal economic activities.
Musa wants to return to school but says his family cannot afford it.
Muhammad says he will return to mining because he has no alternative employment, while a school principal in Shiroro says mining is pulling children away from classrooms.
For the government, the challenge therefore extends beyond stopping illegal mining to addressing what happens to children and families whose survival has become dependent on the activity.
Arrests can remove miners from a mining site for days, weeks or even longer.
But unless the economic conditions that repeatedly push them back into mining are addressed, the cycle of arrest, release and return could persist.
The deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in custody have also introduced another critical question into the crisis: when people are arrested while authorities are enforcing the law, who bears responsibility for their safety while they remain in custody?
The answer will ultimately depend on the findings of the investigations currently underway.
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