Survivors of the death of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Niger State have described how overcrowding and poor ventilation allegedly left detainees struggling for air.
The victims reportedly died on Thursday while being held at an NSCDC detention facility in Minna, the state capital.
One of the survivors, Dauda Shehu, who spoke to journalists at a hospital in Minna, said detainees repeatedly called for help after experiencing difficulty breathing.
He said, “We were jam-packed in the cell, no ventilation for us to breathe well.”
Shehu added that the situation became critical when detainees began struggling to find sources of fresh air.
He said, “All of a sudden, we realised that we could not breathe and we were all scampering for where to get fresh air.”
According to him, repeated pleas to the officials guarding the facility did not yield any response.
He said, “We even appealed to them several times and banged the cell door, but they refused to answer us.”
Shehu further claimed that detainees raised the alarm after some of their colleagues began collapsing.
He said, “Several times, we raised the alarm that some people were already dying because of suffocation, but nobody answered us.”
Another survivor, who requested anonymity, said his position close to the entrance of the cell helped him escape the fate of those who died.
He said, “We were screaming for help and telling the guards that people were dying one after the other, but they did not believe us.”
The deaths have generated anger in Minna, with unrest reported in parts of the city on Thursday and Friday. Reports said protesters blocked a major road and attacked a transport facility, while security personnel moved to disperse the crowd.
The circumstances surrounding the deaths remain under investigation. An intelligence report cited by AFP indicated that overcrowding and inadequate ventilation may have contributed to the deaths.
The NSCDC had initially attributed the incident to disease.
Following the deaths, the Federal Government suspended the NSCDC Commandant in Niger State, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, pending the outcome of an investigation.
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said the government would conduct a comprehensive investigation into the incident.
He said, “A full investigation will be conducted while the commandant under whose watch this happened remains suspended.”
Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, also imposed a night-time curfew in Minna as authorities moved to contain the unrest.
Niger State is a major mining area, with numerous artisanal miners operating across the state. Officials and experts have also linked illegal mining activities in parts of the state to criminal networks that allegedly impose levies on miners operating in mining communities.
The government is expected to establish the exact circumstances that led to the deaths and determine whether any officials or other persons should be held responsible.
