The Niger State Government has ordered the immediate suspension of all mining activities across the state following the deaths of about 37 artisanal miners detained at a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) office in Minna.
Bago announced the suspension on Friday when he received the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who visited the state to commiserate with the government and families of the deceased.
Bago said the suspension would affect both legal and illegal mining operations until the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development completes tests to determine whether toxic substances in the mining environment contributed to the deaths.
The governor said the deaths had exposed concerns about the safety of mining activities and the involvement of children in the sector.
“The activities of legal mining is taking a toll on our children. If you see the ratio of people who have died, they are within the ages of 14 and 18,” Bago said.
He added that mining had contributed to children dropping out of school, describing the issue as one that required further attention.
What happened to the miners?
The Governor said the government was yet to establish the actual cause of the deaths but identified two areas requiring investigation: the circumstances of the miners’ detention and the possibility of exposure to poisonous substances.
According to Bago, 67 people were arrested and detained in the civil defence cells. He said survivors had reported suffocation and dehydration.
“Some of the people that survived have claimed that it’s suffocation and dehydration,” he said.
Bago also said observations from the hospital and mortuary raised concerns about possible poisoning disclosing that some of these corpses had foams in their mouth with bloodstains, and also some part of their skins were peeling.
The governor said methane, cyanide or lead poisoning could not be ruled out, but stressed that the government needed a proper investigation to establish the cause, “We don’t know the real causes of this,” he said.
The state government said the Federal Government had already sent a committee and technical teams to collect samples from the affected mining area for laboratory analysis.
Governor alleges negligence in NSCDC custody
Bago accused the former NSCDC state controller of ordering the detention of the miners for more than 24 hours and described the action as reckless.
He also alleged that officers on duty failed to respond to pleas from detainees who were reportedly screaming that they were dying.
The Governor said the NSCDC Commandant-General had suspended the State Commandant, an action he described as timely.
“I want to thank the CG of the Civil Defence for that swift action. It was very timely,” Bago said.
Mining suspended across Niger
Bago said he had discussed the issue with the Minister of Mineral Resources and that all mining activities would be suspended pending the outcome of environmental and laboratory tests.
“So all miners are supposed to keep off whether you are legal or illegal until the ministry comes to do a swell test and also ascertain if there are poisons in the earth that are hazardous to human beings,” he said.
The governor also linked mining activities to reports of serious renal failure in areas where mining had become widespread.
“Of recent, we have recorded serious renal failure in places where mining has become a preoccupation and the rate at which people are losing their kidneys and also other organs to these activities,” he said.
He called for collaboration between the state and Federal Government to address the health and environmental risks associated with mining.
Minna unrest follows deaths
The deaths have also triggered unrest in Minna, with the governor disclosing that public and private property had been vandalised including the Niger State Transport Company, a bank, political party offices and businesses were among those affected.
He said security agencies had intervened to prevent the situation from escalating while announcing a 12-hour curfew in Minna saying the measure was intended to restore order and prevent further destruction.
Bago urged residents to remain calm and desist from vandalising public assets, private property, schools and businesses, “It is very, very inconvenient seeing that people will have to shut down their businesses so that we can restore order and peace in the state capital.”
The governor appealed to parents and guardians to ensure that their children stayed at home during the curfew.
Interior Minister: Probe will not be abandoned
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, assured the Niger State Government that the Federal Government would investigate the deaths and work to prevent a recurrence.
Tunji-Ojo said he had spoken with Governor Bago after receiving news of the incident and described the governor as concerned about the loss of lives.
He said: “We must ensure that we get to the root of the matter, and if there’s a promise we want to make to you, it’s that we’ll get to the root of the matter, and we’ll ensure that this thing doesn’t happen anywhere else in Nigeria again.”
The minister said the Federal Government would collaborate with Niger State and that President Bola Tinubu was concerned about the incident.
He said the delegation from the Ministry of Interior, which included the NSCDC Commandant-General’s representative and other senior officials, was in the state to commiserate with the government and support efforts to investigate the deaths.
Tunji-Ojo said: “I want to assure you on behalf of Mr. President, he’s concerned, and of course he’s worried about this, and as a government, I want to assure you this will not slide.”
He said the ministry would do what was necessary to establish the facts surrounding the incident.
