Nigerian probe says overcrowded cell caused deaths of detained miners; toll given as 33 or 37

Mixed · 2A government investigating committee in Nigeria reported on Tuesday 27 October that suspected illegal miners died in detention last month because of severe overcrowding, poor ventilation and neglect. 1 2 Left · 1The men were held in a crowded cell in Minna, capital of Niger state, after being arrested by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), a paramilitary government agency. 2 Mixed · 2Committee head Jonathan Kure said medical and forensic evidence showed death by asphyxia, an acute respiratory failure caused by prolonged confinement in a severely overcrowded, poorly ventilated cell and aggravated by heat stress and dehydration, and that the committee considered this cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. 2 1

Right · 1Kure called the deaths "entirely preventable" and said the committee had reviewed detention records, autopsies, hospital reports and communication logs. 1 Right · 1The committee rejected earlier suggestions from officials that a disease outbreak was responsible; Kure said the evidence did not support that. The NSCDC had first suggested an unspecified disease and later said the cause had not been established. 1 Left · 1Survivors said the cell had poor ventilation, that some detainees believed a substance that stung their throats and noses was sprayed in before the door was shut, and that screams and banging brought no response from guards on duty. 2

Right · 3The reports differ on the death toll. The Hindu (PTI) and IJR, citing the committee, give 33 verified deaths, 14 of them minors; The Hindu quotes Kure saying higher figures could not be reconciled with records and identified victims, and notes Niger state authorities had put the toll at 37. The Reuters report carried by The Straits Times and Anadolu Agency give the number as 37, and Anadolu also says 14 of the dead were minors. 2 3 1 Right · 1The panel recommended 30 million naira (about $22,500) in compensation for each victim's family and 10 million naira for each of 41 survivors, and called for an overhaul of the NSCDC. The government has suspended senior NSCDC officials pending the investigation, and the agency did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. 1 Centre · 1Anadolu Agency, citing the report it obtained, says the compensation totals 1.4 billion naira (about $1 million), and that the committee also called for the dismissal of the NSCDC's Niger State commandant and other officers directly involved. Kure presented the findings to Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo in Abuja; Tunji-Ojo pledged to implement the recommendations and ordered the suspension of officers accused of cleaning the detention facility to destroy evidence. 4

Centre · 1Anadolu dates the deaths to 17 September, when 37 of 67 artisanal and suspected illegal miners arrested in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State were found dead at the NSCDC facility in Minna; it adds that President Bola Tinubu had called for a comprehensive and transparent inquiry. 4 Right · 1IJR reports that the committee also found the arrests lacked required authorization and that the detainees were held beyond the legally permitted period. 3 Right · 1The deaths, which included many teenagers working in artisanal gold mines, sparked outrage and protests in Nigeria and renewed concern about detention conditions for suspects awaiting trial. 1