A nine-year-old survivor of a detention involving suspected illegal miners in Niger State has accused security personnel of ignoring pleas for help as detainees died.
The boy known as Khalid, said he and others were arrested by Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel at a mining site in Minna.
Speaking with his parent’s consent, Khalid alleged that detainees were kept overnight before the families knew they had been arrested. The parents later came to the detention facility seeking their release, but he was allegedly denied access to them.
He further alleged that an unidentified substance was sprayed into an overcrowded, dark cell through holes from outside. Some detainees later began dying, while others began feeling intense heat and itching and distress. According to Khalid, detainees told security personnel repeatedly that people were dying and requested water and access to fresh air, but he alleged that their pleas were refused.
The account comes as authorities investigate the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in NSCDC custody in Minna. Niger State Governor Umar Bago said 67 artisanal and suspected illegal miners had been detained before 37 died.
The NSCDC initially blamed the deaths on a suspected disease outbreak, but later said the cause was not established. President Bola Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive investigation, while an independent committee established by the Interior Ministry has begun its inquiry.
Other survivors have also alleged that an unidentified substance was sprayed inside the cell. But there is no publicly established forensic evidence linking the substance to the deaths.
