…Says Bodies Found On Floor, Outside Facility
…Survivors Rushed To Hospital As Questions Mount Over Aleged Assault, Overcrowding
…24 NSCDC Personnel Detained As FG Orders Independent Probe
Daud Olatunji
The circumstances surrounding the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Niger State have taken a disturbing turn, following fresh revelations by Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago that some of the corpses had blood stains around their mouths and noses, burns, bruises and cuts.
Bago disclosed this while appearing on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, saying he personally saw the bodies when he visited the NSCDC facility in Minna following the deaths.
According to the governor, several corpses were found lying inside and outside the detention facility, while detainees who were still alive were evacuated and taken to hospital.
The disclosure has intensified scrutiny of what happened inside the facility where the suspects were detained after their arrest during anti-illegal mining operations in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State on September 15 and 16.
Bago said, “When we got there, I saw a lot of dead corpses on the floor and outside and some had blood stains in their noses, in their mouths and some had a lot of burns and kind of bruises on their body.
“And some even had some cuts on their bodies.”
The governor said the condition of the bodies prompted him to order that the deceased be transferred to the state mortuary, while those still alive were rushed to hospital.
He added that the survivors had been receiving medical attention, with some still undergoing treatment.
The governor’s account comes amid allegations by witnesses and relatives that some of the detainees were physically assaulted while in custody. Those allegations have not been independently established, while investigations are ongoing.
The development has also raised questions over the number of people detained in the facility.
Bago had earlier disclosed that 67 artisanal and suspected illegal miners were reportedly detained in the NSCDC facility, with 37 of them subsequently dying.
He said investigators would need to determine whether the detention facility had the capacity to accommodate the number of people held there.
The governor stressed that the facility itself was relatively new and not an old detention centre, but said the crucial question was whether its size and facilities were adequate for the number of detainees.
“The cell is not an old cell. But the size of the cell to take that amount of people will need probably statistics or science to prove whether it has a capacity for 100 people or 50 people or even 30 people,” he said.
Earlier, the governor had said possible suffocation caused by overcrowding and possible exposure to hazardous substances at mining sites were among issues requiring investigation. However, authorities have yet to establish the actual cause of death.
The fresh controversy follows allegations from witnesses that some of the detainees were beaten after their arrest.
One witness, identified as Ibrahim Adamu, said the suspects might have been involved in illegal mining but argued that such allegations did not justify physical abuse.
“It is true that they caught them engaging in illegal mining, but the law does not say that when someone is caught engaging in illegal mining, they should be killed through torture or beaten to death,” Adamu was quoted as saying.
Another source, whose brother was among the deceased, alleged that an NSCDC officer demanded N500,000 for his release and claimed to have witnessed detainees being beaten with sticks and iron.
The NSCDC initially said some of the detainees were found dead following a suspected disease outbreak.
However, the Corps subsequently clarified that the specific cause of death had not been medically or scientifically established, cautioning against attributing the deaths to any particular disease before the completion of medical and laboratory examinations.
The remains were deposited at the General Hospital, Minna, for medical examination and determination of the cause of death.
The NSCDC also constituted a high-powered investigative team to examine the circumstances surrounding the incident, including the condition of the suspects when they were arrested, their treatment while in custody, detention conditions and medical attention provided to them.
...24 NSCDC personnel now detained
The crisis has meanwhile triggered disciplinary action within the Corps.
The NSCDC has detained 24 personnel, including the suspended Niger State Commandant, Suberu Aniviye, over the deaths. The officers were being paraded at the Corps’ national headquarters in Abuja on Sunday as the organisation presented preliminary findings.
Separately, the Federal Government has suspended 20 officers connected to the incident and constituted a 10-member independent committee following President Bola Tinubu’s directive for a comprehensive and transparent investigation.
The committee is expected to establish the identities of the deceased, circumstances surrounding their arrest and detention, and the cause and circumstances of their deaths.
The deaths have already triggered protests in Minna, with authorities imposing a curfew following clashes between protesters and security personnel.
Human rights groups have also demanded an independent and transparent investigation, particularly amid reports that some of those detained were minors. Amnesty International has called for the circumstances leading to the deaths to be fully established.
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