Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on President Bola Tinubu, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, and the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, to ensure a thorough investigation into the deaths of 37 persons in government custody in Niger State.
Reacting on Saturday through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said 37 persons who were arrested alive and detained under state authority died in custody.
“Thirty-seven Nigerians went into government custody alive. Thirty-seven families got back corpses. Suspensions are not enough — the country deserves the truth, accountability and justice,” he said.
Atiku said the Federal Government must explain the circumstances that led to the deaths after taking responsibility for the safety of those detained.
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“Thirty-seven Nigerians, many of them teenagers, entered government custody alive. Thirty-seven of them died there,” he said, adding that the incident requires more than press releases and suspensions.
He noted that the victims were arrested during an operation against alleged illegal mining and detained by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), an agency supervised by the Ministry of Interior.
Atiku said allegations by survivors that detainees were held in an overcrowded and poorly ventilated cell should be investigated through an independent process.
He said the Ministry of Interior, which supervises the NSCDC, and the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, which supervises the mining sector, have roles in ensuring accountability in the enforcement operations.
He also said the President, as head of government, bears overall responsibility for ensuring that investigations are credible.
Atiku recalled the 2014 Nigeria Immigration Service recruitment exercise in which some applicants died, noting that the supervising minister at the time was investigated and prosecuted in connection with the exercise, and said similar standards of accountability should apply.
He said while illegal mining must be tackled, enforcement must respect constitutional rights.
“Illegal mining is robbing Nigeria of its resources, destroying communities and threatening national security.
“It must be confronted firmly. But fighting illegal mining is not a licence for state agents to arrest citizens alive and return their bodies to their families. An allegation is not a death sentence,” he said.
Atiku called for identification of all officials involved in the arrest, transportation and detention, and for an independent criminal investigation to establish the chain of command, conditions of detention, and actions taken when distress was reported.
He called for securing of detention registers, operational records, communication logs, medical reports, photographs and surveillance footage; conducting independent autopsies with family representation, protecting evidence, making findings public, and prosecuting those found culpable.
“A government-controlled inquiry designed to contain public anger and clear government officials would be nothing more than a cover-up masquerading as accountability,” he said.
He added, “Thirty-seven lives mattered. Thirty-seven families are grieving. Thirty-seven Nigerians entered government custody alive and never returned home. We demand the truth. We demand accountability. We demand justice for all 37 victims.”