From classrooms to gold pits: How poverty drove Niger children to death mine

A day before 37 suspected illegal miners died in NSCDC custody in Minna, DAILY POST spoke with 15-year-old Musa — who started mining gold at age 10 and has not been in school since — capturing in one conversation the poverty-driven human story behind Nigeria’s most shocking custodial death scandal.

“I want to go back to school, but there is no money to send me,” Musa said on September 16, 2026, as NSCDC officers drove miners from sites around the M.I. Wushishi axis.

His story is not unique. A 14-year-old identified as Hassan has spent two years mining after his family relocated from Kano. A 22-year-old named Muhammad, who has mined for four years, told DAILY POST he would return to the pits immediately after release because he had no alternative income.

School principals in parts of Shiroro Local Government Area told DAILY POST that classrooms had become largely empty as children migrated to mining communities, with parents questioning the value of education when employment after graduation remained uncertain and families faced immediate hunger.

The economics were stark: miners said they could earn up to N20,000 on a good day — enough to feed families, pay school fees for younger siblings and cover household expenses. Raids and arrests changed nothing because, once released, the underlying poverty remained.

DAILY POST also uncovered alarming allegations that arrested miners were demanded N500,000 for bail, with two parents separately claiming they paid the sum without their children being released. The NSCDC did not respond to requests for clarification.

The morning of September 17 changed everything. Sixty-five detainees packed into a poorly ventilated cell began collapsing from heat and suffocation. Survivors said officers ignored desperate pleas to open the door. Some drank their own urine. Thirty-seven never came out.