*Victims were part of 65 alleged illegal miners arrested by NSCDC in Niger State
By Adelowo Oladipo, Minna
No fewer than 33 suspected illegal miners arrested by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State have reportedly died in custody, with survivors alleging that the victims suffocated in an overcrowded detention cell.
The deaths occurred at the NSCDC Command Headquarters along David Mark Road, Minna, following the arrest of scores of suspected illegal miners during an operation at mining sites in M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto communities.
The Niger State Command of the NSCDC confirmed the deaths in a statement personally signed by its Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, on Thursday.
Aniviye said the Corps conducted a “burst operation” on September 15 and 16 as part of renewed efforts to tackle illegal mining activities in the state.
According to him, the operation led to the arrest of scores of suspected illegal miners and the recovery of various exhibits.
He said several of the detainees were found dead in the early hours of September 17 following what he described as a suspected outbreak of disease.
However, survivors gave a different account, alleging that overcrowding and lack of ventilation caused the deaths.
One of the survivors, Dauda Shehu, an indigene of Allawa in Shiroro Local Government Area, alleged about 65 detainees were packed into the cell.
“We were jam-packed; there was no ventilation for us to breathe well,” he said.
Shehu alleged that detainees began struggling for fresh air and repeatedly appealed to officers for help, including banging on the cell door.
He said their pleas were ignored even after they raised the alarm that some detainees were dying.
“Out of the 65 of us that were in the cell, they brought only six of us to the general hospital. Where are the remaining 26 people if they claimed it is only 33 that died?” he asked.
Another survivor, who requested anonymity, said those who survived were mainly detainees who were close to the entrance and were able to attract attention by screaming for help.
He alleged that deaths occurred during the night and continued into Thursday morning.
The survivor also said many of those arrested were displaced persons from Allawa who had fled bandit attacks and turned to mining to survive.
“We were chased away from our homes in Allawa by bandits. We were just trying to earn a living. We do not carry arms or weapons,” he said.
The incident has also triggered anguish among families searching for their detained relatives.
A parent, Abdullahi, said his son, Salim, who he described as the family’s breadwinner, left home three days earlier to engage in mining but never returned.
He said the family later learnt that Salim and others had been arrested by the NSCDC and had repeatedly visited the Command to seek their release.
According to him, the families had been taking food to the detainees, adding that his son and others appeared healthy when they delivered food on Wednesday.
“It was when we came this morning to give them food that we saw that my son and many others were already dead,” he said.
Abdullahi called for an independent investigation and autopsy to establish the actual cause of the deaths.
He alleged that families had not been allowed to see the bodies and demanded that the corpses be released to relatives for independent examination.
“They should tell us what truly killed our children. Is it that they poisoned them or tear-gassed them?” he asked.
He said his son was not a criminal but was only engaged in mining to support the family.
“We need justice. They should release the corpses to us and we will seek an independent autopsy report in order to know the immediate or remote cause of their death,” he said.
The conflicting accounts have heightened calls for an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths, including the conditions under which the suspects were detained and the medical cause of death.
Reacting to the incident, the National Public Relations Officer of NSCDC, Babawale Afolabi said the Commandant General, Prof. Ahmed Abubakar Audi has directed the constitution of a high-powered investigative team, led by the Deputy Commandant General in charge of Intelligence and Investigation, to immediately look into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
He said the team has been mandated to undertake a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances leading to the deaths, including the condition of the suspects upon arrest, their period in custody, the conditions of detention, medical attention provided, and other relevant circumstances surrounding the incident.
