Thirty-seven miners have lost their lives in detention at the command headquarters of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State.
The incident happened after the miners, who were suspected to be operating illegally, were arrested and detained by the personnel of the security outfit in the state capital Minna.
The deaths were discovered on Thursday morning, causing families to gather at the state NSCDC headquarters, seeking for explanations.
The families later moved to a hospital in the state where the remains and survivors were taken to, to identify their relations
Other miners, who survived the incident and were recuperating at the hospital, told journalists that many of them had been crammed into a tight cell by the NSCDC personnel after their arrest.
They said as they were being detained overnight, NSCDC officers ignored their persistent complaints of intense heat and lack of ventilation in the cell, a situation they claimed resulted in the multiple deaths.
“The heat was unbearable. We repeatedly banged at the door trying to force it open, but to no avail. We equally called for help, pleading with the officers to save us, that some of us were already dying, but they ignored us, thinking we were making things up,” said one of the miners who gave his name as Dauda Shehu.
He said over 60 of them were arrested at the mines and taken into custody, adding that only six were evacuated to the hospital on Thursday morning.
‘We drank our urine to survive’
Another survivor described the detention facility as too snall for the people forced into it. He said due to the intense heat that night, they were drenched in their sweat and suffered severe thirst. “We felt acute thirst and started drinking our own urine to survive. Most of the people that died, died as a result of unbearable thirst,” he said.
According to him, the only source of air into the room was through a tiny hole on the door, which some of them near the entrance utilized to stay alive. “We took turns to position nostrils by the hole to take fresh air until morning, while dead bodies lay all about us in the room,” he added.
A father, who simply gave his name as Abdullahi, said his son had spent three days in detention before he died. The father said he had taken food to the son on the night of the incident.
“When we took food to him, we begged them to release him to us but they insisted we must give them N500,000. Where would I get that amount with the current state of the ckuntry? So, when we returned this morning to give him food, we met them dead,” he said. He said he saw up to 30 bodies piled up in two ambulances, including that of his son. “I suspect a foul play and would want government to investigate ,” he said.
Also, a grandmother interviewed by journalists outside the hospital said she lost grandson and wanted his body for burial. “I was just informed of his death by his brother. Let them hand the bodies to us to go and bury. What are they keeping them for?” she said.
Niger state government, NSCDC launch investigations
The Niger State governor, Mohammed Umar Bago, has announced the setting up of a committee of inquiry to unravel the cause of the incident. The governor confirmed that 37 people died in custody of the NSCDC, saying the state commander of the corps and his team had been suspended, to pave the way for a proper investigation. The governor vowed to ensure justice and get to the root of the matter.
Similarly, the NSCDC has also launched an investigation into the deaths of the miners.
In a press statement issued by its spokesperson, Babawale Afolabi, the corps said its commandant general, Ahmed Audi, had directed his deputy to lead a high-powered investigative panel to determine the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
Afolabi said the miners were arrested during a coordinated operation conducted by the Niger state command of the corps, as part of efforts to curb illegal mining activities in the state.