Survivors Describe Cell Ordeal as Nigeria Probes Mining Detention Deaths

A miner held in the custody of a Nigerian security agency in the country's north-central region has described conditions in the cell where more than 37 illegal mining suspects died, saying he believes he survived only by chance.

Dauda Shehu, 29, said detainees were sweating heavily in the unbearable heat. When one of them fainted, the others revived him and appealed to officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), but their pleas were ignored, he alleged.

"How I survived in that cell is only by the grace of God. It felt as if they wanted all of us to die there," Shehu said. He added that if the detainees had known they would die in custody, they would have resisted arrest at the mining site and been prepared to die there instead.

The cause of the deaths has not been established. Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago said forensic examinations and autopsies were being conducted, and the state government set up a committee of inquiry.

On Saturday, the federal government named a 10-member committee drawn from the law, security, mining and medical professions, and announced the suspension of 20 more NSCDC personnel. The head of the security agency in Niger State had been suspended the previous day, bringing the total number of suspended personnel to 21.

The deaths have left families grieving. Lawan Mohammed, the father of one of the dead miners, said he was devastated. "I am not feeling happy, because I am very hurt. I had a lot of expectations for my son, but now it has been shattered completely," he said.

Illegal mining remains a major challenge in Nigeria, particularly in parts of the north-central and northwest regions. Analysts have linked the activity to armed gangs involved in kidnappings for ransom, and say such groups receive funding from the illicit trade.