37 miners dead in Plateau. The ministry says they didn't know the gas was lethal.

On Wednesday morning, 37 miners went to work at the Kampani Zurak mining site in Wase, Plateau State. Carbon monoxide, lead oxide, and sulphur filled the poorly ventilated tunnels. Most were between 20 and 35 years old. They collapsed inside the shafts.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Dele Alake confirmed the deaths and explained that the miners "were unaware of the deadly nature of the gases and continued working."

That sentence is the story.

The Kampani Zurak site operates under Mining Licence 11810, issued to Solid Unit Nigeria Limited. Nigeria has a Mines Inspectorate whose job is to ensure licensed sites meet ventilation standards and workers know what they're breathing. The ministry has now sealed the site and dispatched investigators.

Sealing the site after 37 deaths is not oversight. It's cleanup.

Nigeria has been here before. At least 18 miners died in Zamfara in September when a boulder crushed an illegal mine. The difference here is that this wasn't illegal. It had a licence. The licence didn't come with inspection.