THE HORRIFIC DEATH OF DETAINED MINERS

THE HORRIFIC DEATH OF DETAINED MINERS There should be a thorough investigation into the cause of death In the early hours of Thursday, officers at a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) facility in the Wushishi/Lukoto axis of Minna, Niger State, made a troubling discovery: dozens of the men arrested two days earlier allegedly for illegal mining were dead in their cell. By Friday, the confirmed toll stood at 37; minors reportedly among them. Several others are still fighting for their lives. Images of the bodies followed swiftly on social media and, just as swiftly, an explanation came from the Corps’ own Niger State Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye. Without any investigation, he blamed the tragedy on a “suspected outbreak of disease.” To the NSCDC’s credit, it has since resisted its own commandant’s rush to a diagnosis, insisting that the true cause awaits a proper laboratory examination. But whatever the pathologists eventually find, one fact needs no laboratory to confirm: dozens of citizens whose only alleged offence was digging for minerals without a licence went into NSCDC custody and did not come out alive. “This loss of lives cannot go unanswered,” according to Amnesty International Nigeria which has rightly demanded a prompt, independent and transparent inquiry. We subscribe to the demand. When the state arrests citizens over illegal mining and returns their bodies to their families, the burden of explanation sits entirely with whoever held the keys to that cell. The Northern Senators Forum has described the tragedy as another reminder of what happens when human dignity is lost. In a statement by its Chairman, Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’Adua, the Forum said history “has taught humanity how horrifying confinement can become when helpless people are deprived of dignity and treated as though their lives have no value.” While making allusion to what happened at Auschwitz, the largest concentration camp operated by Nazi Germany during World War II, the forum demanded independent autopsies for all 37 victims. “Their families deserve the truth, not conjecture. If criminal negligence, unlawful detention, reckless conduct or any deliberate act contributed to these deaths, those responsible must be prosecuted, irrespective of their rank or position.” To be fair, the federal government has not looked away. The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo moved quickly to suspend Commandant Aniviye. He has also constituted a 10-member independent committee to investigate the deaths. The NSCDC’s Commandant-General, Ahmed Abubakar Audi, has convened an investigative panel and summoned not only Aniviye but also the heads of his Corps’ Operations, Mining, Legal, and Intelligence and Investigation department. Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago of Niger State has declared three days of mourning, cancelled a political rally that was scheduled to hold this weekend, and set up his own committee of inquiry under his deputy, Yakubu Garba. The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the State Security Service (SSS) have also opened separate investigations of their own. On paper, that is five inquiries for one tragedy. On the evidence of recent Nigerian history, five inquiries are no guarantee of anything at all. We have watched this exact sequence before; the swift suspension, promised panel, solemn statement of regret, etc. Within weeks, all these usually dissolve into silence until the next tragedy. Legal or illegal, the death in custody of such a high number of artisanal miners, desperate people trying to eke out a living, deserves a thorough investigation. Because it touches on the value we place on human life, and the steps authorities take in handling suspects, including those accused of committing serious crimes which is not even the case in this instance. This mass death of miners is yet another episode in a declining national psyche that treats human lives as statistics. It is similar to the way we have come to relate to casualties and victims of banditry and other vicious crimes. We count and publicise the numbers and then move on. Yet, there is a higher value to human life that numbers. Every Nigerian that dies an unnecessary death is a loss to their families, relations and the human asset base of the nation. We must account for each loss and ensure that those whose commission or omission leads to unnecessary deaths are held to account. Only then can we reclaim our collective humanity as a nation.