ABUJA: Poor prison conditions led to the deaths of more than 30 miners arrested on suspicion of illegal gold mining in central Nigeria last month, investigators said on Tuesday, describing their treatment as “cruel and inhuman”.
Thirty-three young men were found dead after being held in an overcrowded cell in Minna, the capital of Niger state, in September following their arrest by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), a paramilitary government agency.
Survivors recounted being crammed into the cell with poor ventilation. Some said a substance that stung their throats and noses was sprayed into the cell before the door was slammed shut.
Their screams for help and banging on the door went unanswered by guards on duty, according to survivors, whose accounts were confirmed by investigators.
The deaths occurred over 11 hours, between 8 pm and 7 am (1900 to 0600 GMT), despite distress calls from the detainees.
“Detainees repeatedly banged on cell doors and walls, shouted for assistance and pleaded for water. These distress calls were heard by officers assigned to nearby duties… but were not acted upon,” said Jonathan Kure, head of the investigating team.
He said 74 detainees were held in the cell, which had “a solid metal door, inadequate air flow, no running water, poor lighting and no functioning toilet”.
Medical and forensic evidence showed that the deaths resulted from “environmental asphyxia, acute respiratory failure caused by prolonged confinement in a severely overcrowded and poorly ventilated detention cell aggravated by heat stress and dehydration”, Kure said while presenting the report to the government.
The panel concluded that “these circumstances amounted to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment”, he said.
Preventable tragedy
Niger state authorities initially put the death toll at 37, but the investigating committee confirmed 33 deaths.
“The committee confirmed 33 as the verified casualty figure because higher numbers reported immediately after the incident could not be reconciled with available records and identified victims,” Kure said, adding that 14 of the dead were minors.
The civil defence corps initially blamed the deaths on disease, but investigators dismissed that claim.
The “preventable” tragedy was caused by “severe overcrowding, unlawful and unsuitable detention conditions”, alongside “wider systemic deficiencies”, they found.
The officers also failed in their duty of care by disregarding repeated distress warnings, the investigators said.
Niger state, which is more than twice the size of Belgium, is rich in minerals and attracts thousands of artisanal miners, many of whom are drawn by the hope of striking gold.
The scramble for gold reserves extracted from illegal mines in Niger state is fuelling violence by criminal gangs known locally as bandits, according to officials and experts.