Survivors of the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State have recounted the terrifying conditions inside the cell, alleging overcrowding, extreme heat and lack of ventilation left detainees struggling desperately for air.
The miners died on Thursday while in NSCDC custody in Minna, the Niger State capital, triggering protests and unrest across parts of the city.
The circumstances surrounding the deaths remain disputed.
While the NSCDC initially attributed the deaths to a disease outbreak without identifying the illness, survivors alleged that detainees suffocated and became severely dehydrated inside the overcrowded cell.
One of the survivors, Dauda Shehu, an indigene of Allawa in Shiroro Local Government Area of the state, said detainees suddenly found themselves unable to breathe and began desperately searching for fresh air.
“All of a sudden, we realised that we could not breathe and we were all struggling for where to get fresh air,” Shehu said.
He said the detainees screamed for help and repeatedly banged on the cell door while calling on NSCDC officers to intervene.
“We even appealed to the officers several times; we banged the cell door but they refused to answer us,” he alleged.
“Even when we raised the alarm that some people were being suffocated, nobody answered us. They were watching us gasp for breath and screaming for help but they ignored us.”
Shehu’s account was corroborated by another survivor, who said those positioned near the entrance of the cell were more fortunate because they apparently had better access to air.
“We survived because we were close to the entrance and we were screaming for help,” he said.
“Even when we were telling them that people were dying, they did not believe us.”
The survivor said some of the detainees had been displaced from their homes in Allawa by bandits and had gone to Minna to engage in mining to make a living.
“We were chased away from our homes in Allawa by bandits. We are just trying to make a living in Minna,” he said.
“We do not carry any arms or weapons, they are lying.”
Another survivor said conditions inside the cell became so desperate that some detainees resorted to drinking their own urine.
“We resorted to drinking our urine inside the cell because of the suffering we were going through. The messy situation of the cell made our brothers die,” he said.
Shehu also questioned the number of survivors and the official death toll, saying more people had been detained than the number reflected in some official accounts.
“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? We were 65 people that were arrested,” he said.
The accounts emerged as authorities continued investigations into the deaths.
A viral video seen by our correspondent showed the bodies of some of the deceased miners lying on a light-green tarpaulin.
Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, said preliminary forensic findings showed that some of the deceased had foam mixed with bloodstains in their mouths and peeling skin, raising the possibility of lead poisoning.
The governor had earlier said 67 artisanal and suspected illegal miners were detained in the NSCDC facility before 37 died.
The exact cause of death, however, has not been established.
While the detainees remained in custody, their relatives said they repeatedly visited the facility with food and appealed for their release.
Musa Abdullahi, whose son, Salim, was among those detained, said families had taken food to the detainees for three days.
He said he went to the facility again on Thursday expecting to see his son, only to discover that Salim and several others were dead.
“We were taking food to them for the three days in detention. But when we took food to them on Thursday, we saw that my son and many others were already dead,” the grieving father said.
Abdullahi said his son was the family’s breadwinner and demanded an explanation for what happened to him while in custody.
He also called for an independent autopsy, alleging that families had not been allowed to inspect the bodies.
“They have refused us to see the dead bodies for us to be sure that they were not shot, tortured or killed,” Abdullahi alleged.
“They should tell us what truly killed our children. Was it that they poisoned or tear-gassed them?
“What is the reason for killing my son and the others? We need justice. They should release the corpses to us and we will seek an independent autopsy. We will not let this go down like this.”
The incident also claimed the life of 17-year-old Saleem, the younger brother of Babao Natsira.
Natsira said the families had completed the process for the release of the detainees before their deaths but alleged that the NSCDC failed to release them.
He rejected the explanation that a disease outbreak caused the deaths.
“They killed our children and brothers,” he alleged.
“We visited them for the three days that they were arrested, only for us to hear that they had died.”
Natsira questioned how a disease could have killed several detainees without apparently affecting the officers guarding them.
“They must tell us what really killed them,” he said.
Another survivor, who spoke in Hausa during a televised address to Governor Bago and the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, gave another account of the conditions inside the cell.
He said 17 people were initially held in the room before additional detainees were brought in.
According to him, the detainees complained that the room was too small and hot, but more people were subsequently added.
“They locked us in a very small room. We were 17 in number. Then they added more people. And we started complaining that the room was small. The room was very hot. The room became extremely hot,” he said.
He said the detainees were later ordered to stand as officers prepared to lock the room.
The survivor alleged that a substance resembling perfume was then sprayed inside the cell.
“As they were about to lock the room, they sprayed something that looked like perfume, and the smell started disturbing everyone in the room, and that’s how people started falling down,” he said.
He also alleged that the heat became unbearable and that the detainees repeatedly pleaded for water.
“The room became extremely hot. We pleaded with them to give us water, but they said no one would open the door for us that same night,” he said.