Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has donated ₦20 million to the families of the 37 artisanal miners who died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State.
Atiku made the donation on Tuesday during a visit to Minna, where he also paid a condolence visit to the Emir of Minna, Alhaji Umar Bahago.
The miners died on September 17, days after they were arrested during NSCDC operations targeting suspected illegal mining in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State.
The circumstances surrounding their deaths are still under investigation.
The Federal Government has set up a 10-member independent investigative committee to determine the immediate and underlying causes of the deaths. It also suspended 20 NSCDC officers, including the Niger State Commandant, pending the outcome of the investigation.
Similarly, the Niger State Government has inaugurated a nine-member judicial commission of inquiry to investigate the incident and establish responsibility and accountability.
Addressing the affected families and survivors, Atiku described the deaths as a tragedy that requires truth, justice and accountability. He said the testimony of one survivor about the detention conditions was deeply disturbing.
According to a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said, “It was a gory tale listening to one of the survivors. He told us that more than 68 of them were crammed into one small detention facility and that conditions became so desperate that they had to drink one another’s urine just to stay hydrated.”
He stressed that every detainee deserves humane treatment and legal protection, regardless of the allegations against them.
“No Nigerian should ever be subjected to such indignity in the custody of his own government. These were human beings in the care of the state. Whatever accusations may have been made against them, they were entitled to their lives, their dignity and the protection of the law,” he added.
Atiku also said the tragedy should push government to address the economic hardship forcing many young Nigerians into risky and poorly regulated livelihoods.
“Thirty-seven young Nigerians entered the custody of the state alive and did not return alive to their families. That tragedy demands truth, justice and accountability,” he said.
He further argued that economic reforms should be judged by how they affect ordinary Nigerians.
“Economic reform must ultimately be measured by what it does to the lives of ordinary people. If life becomes progressively more difficult for families, workers and young people, then government has a responsibility to reconsider the choices producing those outcomes,” the statement quoted him as saying.
Atiku also renewed his call for a targeted production subsidy for petroleum products refined in Nigeria, saying it would encourage local refining and lower fuel prices.
The proposal has been criticised by the All Progressives Congress (APC), which questioned its legal, fiscal and operational framework and its compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act.
