The very sad news of the deaths of 37 young Nigerians alleged to be illegal miners in Niger State is yet another unfortunate incident that was completely avoidable. How does a nation just waste the lives of people who are still in the prime of their lives in such a manner? This is not à case of natural disaster, not our usual reckless experiences in road accidents or banditry or terrorism.
Two weeks ago, a group of young men were arrested for suspected illegal mining near Borgu, a part of Niger State known for small-scale gold mining.
Two days later, 37 of them were found dead inside the detention centre run by the NSCDC, responsible for protecting critical infrastructure and tackling crimes including illegal mining.
NSCDC spokesperson, Babawale Afolabi, had said more than 50 people had been arrested, and they had not been charged because profiling and documentation were still under way before the deaths.
Following the incident, President Bola Tinubu ordered a full and transparent investigation, saying that the government would not tolerate mass deaths arising from official negligence, dereliction of duty, or failure by public officials to protect the lives placed under their care.
Also, the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, had announced the suspension of 20 NSCDC officers in connection with the reported deaths.
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The NSCDC had blamed it on disease outbreak.
However, an intelligence report shared with AFP news agency suggested the group had died because of overcrowding and poor ventilation inside the detention facility.
The deaths sparked disturbances including attacks on public buildings, and a 24-hour curfew was put in place in the state capital, Minna, as a result.
According to BBC reports, a father of one of those detained said relatives went to the NSCDC office seeking their release but were repeatedly told to return later.
Unfortunately, the following day, they said they got the news that their children had died.
Abdullahi Dalhatu told the BBC: “We believe they suffocated because there was no ventilation.”
He said his son had survived because he was near a small window. “His friend slumped and fainted, and many others also collapsed.”
Expectedly, there are several accounts on the possible cause of the deaths, all of which simply point to cruelty and high-handedness.
The initial account of suspected disease outbreak is totally out of it. Should that even be the case, were those under whose custody they were unaware of it, and what did they do or did they all immediately die of the disease without medical attention?
If, as Dalhatu had said, they were crowded in a poorly ventilated place, was the facility spacious enough to accommodate over 50 people or well ventilated, if not, why put such number of persons there? Were there no complaints by the suspects of the terrible condition of the place? if so, what did the NSCDC officials do about that?
There was also the account of the detainees being sprayed with a substance after which they were locked in. If that is the case, what was the substance and who did that? Was the person acting on his own or on the directive of someone?
There must be a motive for this, and that is what must be established and made public.
It is really appalling to note that when issues concerning mysterious deaths as this occurs, beyond the initial hysteria that greets it, when the noise dies, life simply returns to normal, especially when it involves high profile citizens. No full disclosure, no penalty. Just another statistical data in our everyday mysterious murder cases.
Recently, a poor ordinary Nigerian died in the house of a very big man and minister. What really happened to her? That’s our lot. A people that place no premium of any sort on human dignity or life.
Everybody, from the president to the ministry, to the state government and to NSCDS as well as the police have instituted one panel of inquiry or the other, but as we are all used to, that might just be the end of it all.
For the minister, Tunji-Ojo, who remains one of the best performers in the President Tinubu administration, this is not a good one. So, he should go all out to unravel this mystery and deal accordingly with those found culpable.
This is particularly so because this is a blight on his stellar performance thus far in government.
His contributions to making the ministry, and to a large extent Nigeria, better than he met it has continued to receive public approval and acclaim. His effort at deepening the adoption of technology in governance remains laudable.
It’s therefore no wonder that he has continued to receive accolades within and outside the country.
That said, it will be noteworthy to mention here that Nigerians are watching with keen interest to see if this will be another case of unresolved mystery deaths. How far are we ready to go to get to the bottom of this matter? Were these young men working for some powerful men or were they on their own. If so, who are these kingpins?
The answer to these questions and more might just be a pointer to resolving the protracted cases of banditry which has plagued that region.
The illegal exploitation of these mineral resources in the region is the reason banditry has continued unabated for years. And those behind these crimes are not these teenagers, but the well-heeled in the society. Who will bell the cat?
