Full List: Names of 37 Niger Miners Who Died in NSCDC Custody
- The International Human Rights Commission compiled a list of 37 people who died while held by the NSCDC in Niger state
- The victims were arrested during operations in Minna in September before being found dead in what officials described as a suspected disease outbreak
- The IHRC said four additional names were added to the list after relatives of unrecorded victims approached the commission
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Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over eight years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues.
Minna, Niger state - The International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has identified 37 suspected illegal miners who died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger state, compiling their names from records at General Hospital, Minna.
Legit.ng reports that Awaisu Giwa, the international peace ambassador at the IHRC, said on Sunday, September 20, that the organisation obtained the initial list from the hospital's mortuary attendant, who wrote it down on the instruction of the hospital's chief medical director (CMD).
Source: Twitter
Giwa said:
"We got the list from the CMD of the general hospital. It was written by the mortuary attendant for us, but we are going to the hospital tomorrow for the list to be on the official letterhead of the hospital.
"The CMD was the one who instructed the mortuary attendant to give us the names. Some people whose relatives were missing are beginning to report in our office."
Niger mining: Background to the deaths
The deceased were among a larger group of suspects arrested by the NSCDC during operations conducted on September 15 and 16 around Lt Gen Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi Estate in Minna, the Niger state capital.
Suberu Aniviye, who was NSCDC commandant in the state at the time, said in a statement that "scores of the detained suspects were found dead in the early hours of Thursday, September 17, following a suspected outbreak of disease."
Following the deaths, the federal government suspended Aniviye and ordered a full investigation into what happened to the detained suspects while in NSCDC custody.
Source: Facebook
Niger deaths: What comes next for the families?
Giwa stated that four names were added to the original list after relatives of victims, whose names were not captured in the initial hospital records, came forward to the commission directly.
He added that the compiled list would be used to facilitate compensation for the families of those who lost their lives in the incident.
Below is the full list of victims obtained by The Cable.
- Ibrahim Sani
- Ibrahim Musa
- Yusuf Nasiru
- Umar Lawal
- Isyaku Amisu
- Fahad Sa’adu
- Abdulsalam Ismail
- Safiyanu Abdullahi
- Suleiman Dantala
- Idris Haruna
- Sani Yakubu
- Safiyanu Abubakar
- Abdullahi Abubakar
- Abubakar Musa
- Usman Aliyu
- Abubakar Alhaji
- Musa Ibrahim
- Idris Bashir
- Kabiru Suleiman
- Sani Nasir
- Sanusi Khalid
- Ahmad Aliyu
- Abdul Mudassir
- Suleiman Lawal
- Usman Abdullahi
- Samuel Sambo
- Bissallah Adamu
- Abdulbari Suleiman
- Shafisu Lado
- Usman Ahmad
- Usman Ibrahim
- Sani Isyaku
- Emmanuel Emeka
- Abdul Gafar Abubakar (not included in the general hospital list)
- Usman Haruna (not included in the general hospital list)
- Mu’awiya AbdulKarim (not included in the general hospital list)
- Yaro Salihu Soba (not included in the general hospital list)
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NSCDC arrests 2 illegal miners
Previously, Legit.ng reported that the NSCDC Mining Marshals arrested two suspects found operating an alleged illegal gold mining site in the Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory.
The enforcement unit moved in after receiving credible intelligence and a petition claiming that mining was taking place outside the approved boundaries of a valid exploration licence.
Source: Legit.ng
