The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has demanded an immediate, independent and transparent investigation into the deaths of 37 persons in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State.
Reacting on Friday through its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the incident raised concerns about the value placed on human lives and due process.
The ADC demanded independent autopsies, publication of the victims’ identities and detention records, compensation for their families, and prosecution of officials found culpable.
“Thirty-seven Nigerians entered government custody alive. Their families are now being asked to receive their bodies. This is an indictment on this government about the value of the average Nigerian life. Low income Nigerians are not disposable, and no Nigerian should lose his or her life simply because they were arrested while struggling to survive,” the party said.
The ADC expressed condolences to the families of the deceased, stating that their arrest during raids on mining sites did not extinguish their constitutional rights to life, dignity and due process.
“We must be clear: poverty is not a capital offence. Unemployment is not a death sentence. No accusation, whatever the case, gives any government institution the right to return citizens to their families in body bags,” it said.
According to the party, the incident should be viewed against the backdrop of cost-of-living and unemployment challenges that have pushed many Nigerians into difficult means of livelihood.
“The same APC-led federal government that has failed to provide jobs is now criminalising the desperation created by its own policies. Food is unaffordable, transportation has become a luxury, businesses are closing and legitimate opportunities are disappearing. Yet, rather than confront these failures, the government continues to punish the victims of its failures,” the ADC stated.
The party also said that while poor miners are arrested, the financiers of illegal mining should also be investigated.
“The poor are arrested for digging to survive, while the powerful men who finance illegal mining, sponsor insecurity and cart away Nigeria’s mineral wealth remain beyond the reach of the law. The Tinubu administration has made honest work scarce, survival expensive and insecurity profitable,” it said.
The ADC called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ensure that security institutions act to protect citizens.
“President Tinubu must decide whether Nigeria’s security institutions exist to protect citizens or punish them for being poor. Nigerians need jobs, security and justice, not an economy that impoverishes them and institutions that treat their lives as disposable,” the party said.