Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, has questioned the reported number of suspected miners arrested by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps after 37 detainees died in the agency’s custody in Minna.
Bago said about 67 people were reportedly arrested and detained in three cells, with 37 of them dying in the cell where male detainees were held.
The governor raised the question while speaking on NTA Network News on Friday, as investigations continued into the deaths.
He said the deaths could have resulted from suffocation caused by overcrowding or possible poisoning from hazardous substances at the mining site, stressing that the actual cause had yet to be established.
“It can be claimed that they were suffocated in that facility of the Civil Defense, and also, it’s not going to be far away from even it could be poisoning from the mining site, maybe radiation or lead poisoning,” Bago said.
He said the Ministry of Mines, police and Department of State Services had deployed teams to investigate the incident, while medical examinations and biopsies were being conducted.
“Tests are being on, investigation is on, and some results will be out in the next five days, while some in 10 days. Biopsies have been made, and we are hopeful that we’ll get results,” he said.
Bago said some of the bodies showed signs that required further examination.
“Because when you look at the corpses, some were really peeling off, like they were burnt; some had foam coming out from their mouth; some had even blood stains through their nose and their mouth. So, this could mean a lot of things,” he said.
The governor said the suspension of the NSCDC state commandant and other officials would allow the investigation to proceed.
He also said the state government had constituted a committee of inquiry, chaired by the deputy governor and comprising service chiefs in the state.
On the circumstances surrounding the arrests, Bago said the state government was not informed when the suspected miners were detained.
“I think there is need for more collaboration between federal agencies and the state government. And also, there is also the need for information to be able to be shared freely. Because at the point of the arrest of these suspected miners, the state wasn’t informed. We were only informed much later when they found out that some were dead,” he said.
Bago said the incident also raised concerns about the number of detainees that could be held in a cell.
“Then secondly, there must be a maximum number of people that can be warehoused in their cells, which must be enforced not just by civil defense, but all security agencies,” he said.
He said 67 people were reportedly arrested and divided among three cells, with no deaths recorded in the first two cells.
“Because now the discussion is that in some places they can put 30, in some places they can put 20. If you look at what happened here, about 67 people were arrested. In one cell there were girls, in the other cell there were boys, and in that cell there were boys,” Bago said.
He added, “The ones that were not overpopulated, the first one and the second one, there was no casualty, no death in the first one where the girls were, no death in the second one where the boys are. But in the one the men are, most of them were so packed up, they met some inmates there, and in that cell you had a casualty of 37.”
Bago then questioned whether the reported arrest figure was accurate.
“So if a total of 67 people were really, really arrested, then it means out of the 67, 37 have died.
“How many are in the first cell, how many are in the second cell? You know, this brings also the question to the exact number of people that were really, really arrested,” he said.
The governor’s comments came after at least 37 suspected illegal miners died while in NSCDC custody following their arrests during operations in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State on September 15 and 16.
The cause of the deaths remains under investigation.
Saturday PUNCH had quoted a survivor as saying about 65 suspected illegal miners were held in one cell and alleged that detainees struggled for air in an overcrowded facility.
Another survivor alleged that a substance resembling perfume was sprayed inside the cell shortly before some detainees began collapsing. Those accounts remain allegations pending the outcome of the investigation.
The Federal Government has suspended the Niger State NSCDC commandant and ordered an investigation into the deaths, while the police and other agencies are also investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.
