Thirty-seven suspected illegal miners who died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State have been identified, the International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) said on Sunday.
The victims were among scores of suspects arrested during anti-illegal mining operations on September 15 and 16 around the Lt. Gen. Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi Estate in Minna. NSCDC Niger State commandant Suberu Aniviye had earlier said that several detainees were found dead in the early hours of Thursday following a suspected disease outbreak.
The Federal Government has suspended the state commandant and ordered an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
Awaisu Giwa, IHRC international peace ambassador, said the initial list of 37 names was obtained from the records of General Hospital, Minna, as reported by TheCable. According to Giwa, the hospital’s mortuary attendant provided the names on the instruction of the Chief Medical Director; four additional names were later added after relatives whose kin were missing came forward.
“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,” Giwa said. He added that the commission intends to use the list to assist families in securing compensation.
The 37 identified deceased are:
Ibrahim Sani
Fahad Sa’adu
Abdulsalam Ismail
Usman Aliyu
Abubakar Alhaji
Sani Nasir
Sanusi Khalid
Ahmad Aliyu
Safiyanu Abdullahi
Suleiman Dantala
Idris Haruna
Sani Yakubu
Safiyanu Abubakar
Abdullahi Abubakar
Abubakar Musa
Abdul Mudassir
Suleiman Lawal
Usman Abdullahi
Samuel Sambo
Ibrahim Musa
Yusuf Nasiru
Umar Lawal
Isyaku Amisu
Bissallah Adamu
Abdulbari Suleiman
Shafisu Lado
Usman Ahmad
Usman Ibrahim
Sani Isyaku
Musa Ibrahim
Idris Bashir
Kabiru Suleiman
Emmanuel Emeka
Mu’awiya AbdulKarim
Abdul Gafar Abubakar
Usman Haruna
Yaro Salihu Sob
Officials and rights groups say families are still reporting missing relatives. Authorities have pledged a full probe; details of the investigation and any findings have not yet been released.
