Niger State Governor, Umar Bago, has recounted how he saw several corpses with blood stains around their mouths and noses, burns, bruises and cuts when he visited a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps facility where 37 suspected illegal miners died in custody.
Bago made the disclosure while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, where he described the condition of the victims as disturbing.
According to the governor, several bodies were lying on the floor and outside the facility when he arrived, while some detainees who were still alive were taken to hospital.
Recounting what he saw, 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.”
He added that some of the victims also had cuts on their bodies.
Bago said the condition of the bodies made him order that the deceased be taken to the state mortuary, while those still alive were rushed to hospital.
“And those that were still breathing were now rushed to the hospital where they were attended to. All of them have survived, some are still in hospital though and that is what we know about it,” he said.
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The governor also addressed concerns about the detention facility, explaining that it was a new NSCDC office and not an old detention centre.
He said, “The cell is not an old facility. In fact, it is just their new office. They just moved into that office not quite and the facility is practically very new.”
However, Bago said the capacity of the cell needed to be properly assessed to determine whether it was suitable for the number of people reportedly detained there.
He said, “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.”
The 37 suspected illegal miners were reportedly arrested during enforcement operations around the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State on September 15 and 16.
Some witnesses have alleged that detainees were beaten after their arrest over suspected illegal mining. One witness, Ibrahim Adamu, said involvement in illegal mining should not lead to torture or death.
The NSCDC has confirmed that several suspected illegal miners died in its custody but said the actual cause of death has not been established.
The Corps initially referred to a suspected disease outbreak but later clarified that no specific disease had been medically or scientifically established as the cause of the deaths.
The NSCDC has constituted an investigative team to investigate the incident, including the condition of the suspects when they were arrested, their period in custody, the detention conditions and the medical care they received.
The remains of the deceased were deposited at the General Hospital, Minna, for medical examination to determine the actual cause of death.
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