Niger Miners: Mortuary Received 33 Bodies, Not 37 – Doctor

The head of the mortuary at the General Hospital, Minna, Dr Chinweokwu Alaribe, has told the judicial commission of inquiry into the deaths of miners in Niger State that only 33 bodies were deposited at the facility, contrary to the 37 announced by the state government.

Alaribe gave the testimony on Tuesday when he appeared before the nine-member commission, headed by Justice Mohammed Mohammed, at its resumed sitting in Minna.

The doctor told the panel that the number of corpses deposited at the mortuary was 33, stressing that he was in no position to account for any body that did not get to the facility.

He said, “I’m only aware that 33 corpses were brought in, not aware of any 37 as reported. I cannot count the corpses that were not in the mortuary. I only know that 33 corpses were brought to me.”

Alaribe further explained that the remains were conveyed to the hospital in an ambulance in two separate trips.

According to him, the bodies were escorted to the hospital by two nurses from the medical unit of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

He identified the nurses simply as Mariam and Hauwa, adding that both were attached to the NSCDC medical unit in Minna.

Naija News recalls that Niger State Governor, Mohammed Bago, on September 19, 2026, urged the public to await the outcome of investigations into the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).