Niger Miners’ Deaths: Grieving Families Demand Justice
Families of 37 suspected illegal miners who died after being arrested by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Niger State have demanded justice and compensation.
The bereaved families alleged that they were denied access to their loved ones before being informed of their deaths.
They said they were repeatedly turned away or asked to return whenever they went to the NSCDC office to see the detainees or take food to them, only to learn later that some of the miners had died.
Some of the relatives also alleged that the bodies were left for hours before being taken down from an ambulance at the General Hospital, Minna, and claimed that some of the dead youths had foam and blood around their mouths.
The allegations have raised fresh questions about what happened to the miners between their arrest and deaths, including the conditions in which they were detained, whether they received medical attention and what caused the deaths.
The development came as the Federal Government’s Independent Committee of Inquiry into the incident commenced its sittings on Wednesday, with its medical team beginning work to establish the causes, mechanisms and manner of the deaths.
The committee, inaugurated by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Tuesday, is chaired by retired Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services, Jonathan Kure, with Professor Isa Hayatu Chiroma, SAN, as secretary.
Sixty-three-year-old Musa Aliyu said the tragedy had compounded his family’s hardship after he lost two sons, Ibrahim, 17, and Abubakar, 12.
Aliyu, who has been bedridden for more than 14 months, said his sons had been helping to buy his medication with proceeds from artisanal mining before they left home for the mining site and failed to return.
“My children left home for the mining site as usual to make some money. They have been the ones buying medicine for me since my sickness started. They did not return.
“My wife went to look for them, but we were told they had been arrested by NSCDC. When we went there, we could not see them. Later, we were told they were dead.
“We identified their bodies at the General Hospital. We do not have the power to fight the authorities. We leave them to God,” he said.
Aliyu further alleged that it took several hours before the bodies were released to the families, claiming that the corpses were left outside in the sun.
Another bereaved father, Lawal Muhammed, said he lost his 15-year-old son, Suleiman, after officers allegedly denied him and other parents access to the children following their arrest.
Muhammed said he returned home on Wednesday to learn from his wife that his son had been arrested at the mining site. He subsequently went with his brother and other parents to the NSCDC office that night.
“When I came back on Wednesday, my wife told me that my son was arrested at the mining site by NSCDC officers. My brother, some parents of the children arrested and I went to the NSCDC office that night, but they asked us to come back on Thursday,” he said.
According to him, when they returned the following morning with food for the detainees, they were instead informed that his son was dead.
“I was at the NSCDC office when the bodies were being loaded into the ambulance, and I followed them to the General Hospital. They did not bring the bodies down from the ambulance until 6 pm,” he alleged.
Muhammed demanded an investigation and prosecution of any officers found culpable.
“Where is the justice we have been demanding for? I want the government to prosecute the officers involved in this matter so that others will learn from this. They are officers who took an oath to protect people,” he said.
Muhammad Musa, who lost his 17-year-old nephew, Abubakar, also alleged that relatives were prevented from entering the NSCDC office when they went there on Thursday seeking information.
“They asked us to wait outside. After some time, they told us to go to the General Hospital. When we got there, I saw my nephew among the dead. It was painful,” he said.
Musa called for accountability and compensation for the affected families, saying, “We cannot bring back the dead, but those behind this incident should pay for what they did. Compensation should be paid to the families,” he said.
Another bereaved father, Mohammad Nuru, told Saturday PUNCH that he lost his son, Sabiu, as well as nine other close relatives and neighbours in the incident.
He alleged being prevented from seeing the detainees when he took food to the NSCDC office following their arrest.
Nuru said many of those arrested were teenagers who had turned to artisanal mining to support their families.
“These are just children, many of them 14 and 15, who are trying to earn money instead of going into crime. The economy is bad already, and they want to support their families,” Nuru lamented.
Meanwhile, another grieving father, Mohammed Mankudi, said he learnt about the deaths through information circulating on Facebook.
Mankudi said he and other relatives rushed to the NSCDC office to confirm the report, but were informed that the detainees had already been taken to the General Hospital.
“When the information started circulating on Facebook, we rushed to the NSCDC office to confirm the information, but they had already taken them to the General Hospital,” he said.
Mankudi alleged that when he arrived at the hospital, he saw some of the young victims with foam and blood on their mouths.
Panel begins probe
The panel commenced its sitting on Wednesday, according to a statement signed by its Secretary, Professor Isa Hayatu Chiroma, SAN.
The committee was inaugurated by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Tuesday, and is chaired by retired Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services, Jonathan Kure, while Chiroma is the secretary.
He said the committee held its inaugural meeting immediately after its inauguration and adopted a work plan to guide the investigation.
According to him, the committee will visit relevant sites, engage government agencies, interview survivors, suspects and other relevant persons, and obtain materials needed to establish the facts surrounding the incident.
He also disclosed that the committee’s medical team had commenced work to determine the causes, mechanisms and manner of the deaths.
The committee has appealed to members of the public to support its investigation and resolved to invite memoranda from interested individuals and organisations.
Details on the submission of memoranda, including the venue and date for physical presentations, it stated, will be communicated in due course.
The panel’s mandate includes establishing the identities of the deceased, examining the circumstances surrounding their arrest and detention, determining the cause and circumstances of their deaths, establishing responsibility or negligence and recommending appropriate action, including compensation where applicable.
About 60 young suspected illegal miners were arrested and detained in an NSCDC cell, with 37 subsequently dying. Survivors were reported to have attributed the deaths to excessive heat in the cell.
