The Coalition for the Protection of Democracy (COPDEM) has demanded an independent investigation, immediate autopsies and full accountability following a survivor’s disturbing account of the reported deaths of suspected child miners in NSCDC custody in Minna, Niger State.
Dauda Shehu, from Alawa community in Niger State, who said he was among 66 children arrested over alleged illegal mining activities, recounted what he described as a terrifying ordeal inside the detention cell. According to Shehu, only 12 of the children survived because they were positioned close to the cell door, where a very small opening provided access to fresh air.
Shehu attributed the deaths to extreme heat and inadequate ventilation, alleging that the children repeatedly banged on the cell door and cried for help as conditions inside became unbearable.
The survivor further alleged that NSCDC officers walked past the cell several times but failed to respond to the children’s pleas or open the door, even as detainees attempted to alert them that people inside were dying.
COPDEM said the allegations are too grave to be left solely to an internal security-agency inquiry.
The organisation is therefore demanding an independent panel of inquiry, comprising credible representatives of the judiciary, medical and forensic professions, human-rights institutions and civil society, to establish exactly what happened.
COPDEM also demanded that autopsies be conducted on every deceased detainee, with the results independently verified and made public. The organisation said the precise cause and manner of each death must be established scientifically rather than relying on preliminary explanations.
It further demanded that every NSCDC officer who was on duty during the incident be identified and questioned, including officers responsible for supervising the detention facility, those who allegedly walked past the cell and those responsible for responding to distress calls.
“If detainees were actually crying for help, banging on the door and warning officers that people were dying, investigators must establish who heard those cries, who had the authority to intervene and why the cell was allegedly not opened,” COPDEM said.
The organisation stressed that accountability must follow evidence. Any officer found through due process to have neglected a lawful duty, ignored distress signals, breached detention standards or otherwise contributed to the deaths must face appropriate disciplinary or criminal proceedings.
COPDEM also called for immediate safeguards for everyone currently held in NSCDC custody, including adequate ventilation, access to drinking water, medical screening, emergency medical response, reasonable occupancy limits, regular welfare inspections and functioning mechanisms for detainees to report medical emergencies.
The organisation said minors must receive particular protection and that children should not be held in detention facilities alongside adults or exposed to conditions that could endanger their lives.
“Government custody cannot become a death sentence. Arrest does not extinguish a person’s right to life, dignity and medical care. The state assumes responsibility for the safety of every person it detains,” COPDEM declared.
COPDEM said the reported deaths must also prompt a broader investigation into the circumstances that led children into mining activities in the first place, including poverty, school exclusion and economic vulnerability in mining communities.
The organisation called on the Niger State Government, the Federal Government, the National Human Rights Commission and other relevant institutions to ensure that the investigation is independent, transparent and publicly reported.
“We demand the truth, not a convenient explanation; justice, not another administrative file; and safeguards, not promises. Every death in custody must be accounted for, and every detainee must leave government custody alive and with their dignity intact,” COPDEM said.
