ADC demands probe into death of 37 miners, compensation 

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has demanded an immediate, independent and transparent investigation into the death of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger state.

In a statement issued on Friday and signed by Bolaji Abdullahi, the party’s national publicity secretary, the ADC also demanded independent autopsies, the publication of the identities and detention records of the deceased, compensation for their families and prosecution of officials found responsible for their deaths.

“Thirty-seven Nigerians entered government custody alive. Their families are now being asked to receive their bodies,” the statement reads.

“This is an indictment on this government about the value of the average Nigerian life. Low income Nigerians are not disposable, and no Nigerian should lose his or her life simply because they were arrested while struggling to survive.”

The ADC condole with the families of the deceased and said their arrest during raids on mining sites did not extinguish their constitutional rights to life, dignity and due process.

“We must be clear: poverty is not a capital offence. Unemployment is not a death sentence,” the party said.

“No accusation, whatever the case, gives any government institution the right to return citizens to their families in body bags.”

The party linked the deaths to what it described as worsening cost-of-living and unemployment crises that have pushed millions of Nigerians into desperate and dangerous means of survival.

“The same APC-led federal government that has failed to provide jobs is now criminalising the desperation created by its own policies,” the party said.

“Food is unaffordable, transportation has become a luxury, businesses are closing and legitimate opportunities are disappearing. Yet, rather than confront these failures, the government continues to punish the victims of its failures.”

The ADC also accused the government of arresting poor miners while failing to expose and prosecute what it described as powerful interests behind illegal mining and criminal networks linked to the activity.

“The poor are arrested for digging to survive, while the powerful men who finance illegal mining, sponsor insecurity and cart away Nigeria’s mineral wealth remain beyond the reach of the law,” the party said.

“The Tinubu administration has made honest work scarce, survival expensive and insecurity profitable.”

The ADC said the investigation should establish not only the immediate cause of death but also whether any official action or failure contributed to the deaths.

“President Tinubu must decide whether Nigeria’s security institutions exist to protect citizens or punish them for being poor,” the party stated.

“Nigerians need jobs, security and justice, not an economy that impoverishes them and institutions that treat their lives as disposable.”

The party’s demand followed the federal government’s suspension of Suberu Aniviye, commandant of the NSCDC in Niger state, over the deaths.

Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, minister of interior, also ordered a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths, which occurred in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Minna, the state capital.

The suspects were arrested during enforcement operations conducted by the Niger NSCDC command on September 15 and 16 as part of a crackdown on illegal mining.

Aniviye had earlier said scores of suspects arrested during the mining crackdown were found dead in the early hours of September 17 following a suspected outbreak of disease.

He said the corpses had been deposited at the General Hospital, Minna, for further medical examination to establish the actual cause of death.