Niger State Governor Mohammed Bago has disclosed that 67 artisanal and suspected illegal miners were detained in a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) cell before 37 of them died in custody.
The miners were arrested during NSCDC operations in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State on September 15 and 16.
Bago made the disclosure while addressing journalists in Minna on Friday, saying the exact cause of the deaths had not been established.
He said investigators were considering possible suffocation caused by overcrowding, as well as exposure to hazardous substances at the mining sites.
“The first one is that the office of the Niger State Civil Defence arrested 67 artisans and illegal miners and put them in their cell.
“So probably they died of suffocation. Probably the second one is exposure to certain poisons or poisoning substances on the field,” Bago said.
The governor said medical, forensic and biological teams had been deployed to collect samples to assist investigations into the deaths.
He called for the speedy completion of autopsies and other examinations to establish the cause of death.
“Even at times of war, if you kill 37 people, it is not a small number. So there’s need for us to expedite action in the autopsies that are being done, in the samples that are being taken at the scene and also by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps on the actions of their men who made the arrest,” he said.
Bago also said experts had been deployed to examine the possibility of radiological exposure at the mining site.
He stressed the need for safer mining practices, including the use of protective equipment and continuous public education on the dangers associated with mining.
“It is very important to understand that responsible mining must be the way forward where miners will have to use protective gears and also a lot of advocacy by the ministry must be done and must be continuous where people don’t understand the danger and the consequences of mining,” he said.
The NSCDC had earlier said the cause of the deaths had not been established and that medical and laboratory examinations were being conducted.
The Federal Government has suspended the Niger State NSCDC Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, and ordered a full investigation into the incident.
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