Deaths of illegal miners in NSCDC custody: Nigerians deserve answers

VIA ZAGAZOLA MAKAMA ON X:

The reported deaths of scores of suspected illegal miners in NSCDC custody in Minna are deeply disturbing, especially against the backdrop of the earlier killing of an NSCDC personnel who was reportedly shot in the head during an operation at the same illegal mining area more than a month ago. If confirmed, this is no longer simply a question of enforcement it is a grave matter of accountability, security and the value placed on human life.

How can 30 people or even a fraction of that number be locked inside a detention facility and allowed to die without immediate intervention? Was nobody watching them? Were there no guards conducting routine checks? When did they become critically ill, and why was medical assistance apparently not provided quickly enough? These are basic questions that the authorities must answer publicly. A claim of a suspected disease outbreak cannot by itself explain how detainees under state custody could die in such numbers.

The authorities owe the families and the people of Niger State more than condolences and assurances. They owe them answers, evidence and accountability. The deaths must be independently and thoroughly investigated, including the condition of the detainees when they were arrested, what they ate or were exposed to, the detention conditions, the medical response and the exact timeline of events.

As we write this, protests and unrest are reportedly spreading across Minna, silence and vague explanations will only deepen public anger.

Nigerians deserve to know exactly what happened.

@official_NSCDC @OfficialDSSNG