By Editor
On September 17, 2026, 37 suspected illegal miners arrested in M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto villages of Niger state, died in custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The suspects were said to have been arrested during operations conducted on September 15 and 16.
Suberu Aniviye, NSCDC commandant in Niger state, said “scores of the detained suspects were found dead in the early hours of Thursday following a suspected outbreak of disease”.
Subsequently, Ahmed Abubakar, NSCDC commandant-general, directed the constitution of a “high-powered” investigative team.
The federal government also ordered the immediate suspension of Aniviye pending the conclusion of investigations.
This is not the first time a huge number of suspects would die in the custody of Nigeria’s law enforcement agencies.
THE BLACK MARIA TRAGEDY
On February 29, 1980, officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) arrested 68 suspects in some parts of the Lagos metropolis, following a robbery incident at Tin Can Island.
The police officers believed that the 68 men were homeless and unemployed.
The suspects were detained at the Central Police Station on Adeniji Adele street, Lagos Island.
On March 3, 1980, the suspects were taken to the Saint Anne Magistrate court located at Broad street, Lagos Island.
The suspects were charged with wandering and loitering.
They pleaded not guilty to the offences.
The magistrate ordered that they be remanded at the Ikoyi prison.
The 68 suspects were crammed inside a police van, popularly known as Black Maria. The suspects were said to have remained inside the van for several hours as police officers and court officials prepared documents for their remand.
The van is primarily used by the police and prison authorities to transport suspects from police stations to prisons. It is often windowless, with very limited ventilation and space.
Suspects detained in Black Maria often experience extreme heat, discomfort, and difficult conditions during transportation.
When the suspects arrived at the Ikoyi Prison, many of them were unconscious and rushed to the Lagos state hospital.
On March 4, 1980, the Daily Times newspaper published a banner headline that read: “47 Die in ‘Black Maria.’”
The cover page of the Daily Times newspaper edition of March 4, 1980 was archived by Archivi.ng, a digital platform that digitises historical news content.
Daily Times had reported a doctor as saying that the suspects “died of suffocation aided by starvation”.
A total of 50 suspects died from the Black Maria incident.
The incident sparked national outrage and was dubbed as “Black Maria Tragedy”.
It transpired during the administration of late Shehu Shagari, Nigeria’s first elected president.
A couple of days after the incident, Shagari constituted a panel to investigate the tragedy
