Niger: APM demands transparent probe of miners’ death

The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has called for a transparent probe of the circumstances surrounding the death of 37 miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State.

The APM, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary Yusuf Abubakar, also condemned the reported use of ammunition and tear gas by security agencies against unarmed citizens protesting the death of the late miners.

The opposition party noted that the death of the victims in NSCDC custody allegedly mirrors the value the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) attaches to human lives.

It noted that “the claims by the authorities that the victims were alleged illegal miners and that they died as a result of a suspected outbreak of disease in the cell do not justify the mortalities. It only validates reports of inhuman conditions under which they were detained for over two days.

“It is unimaginable that sixty-six persons were cramped into a cell where 37 of them died of excessive heat and after being reportedly sprayed with a yet to be identified substance.

“Indeed, this is not the Nigeria we dream of. While thousands of our citizens who fell victims of terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and armed robbers suffer brutality in the hands of their captors, it is unthinkable that Nigerians could be subjected to such acts of dehumanisation by an agency of the APC-led Federal Government.

“This is why our nation needs a reset. The lives of citizens must be treated with dignity as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution (as amended). The death of citizens in detention facilities cannot be justified under any guise.

“The APM therefore demands an expeditious, open, transparent and unrestricted probe into this horrible incident, particularly the circumstances surrounding the death of the suspects in the APC-controlled agency and the use of ammunition on protesters.

“While sympathising with the families of the victims and the people of Niger State, the APM urges Nigerians to remain calm as we await the outcome of the probe.”