African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Candidate Atiku Abubakar has demanded that the Federal Government provide a clear explanation for the death of 37 miners while in state custody. In a statement released by his Senior Special Assistant, Phrank Shaibu, Abubakar accused the administration of failing to account for the lives lost, stating that the victims were arrested alive by government agents and never returned alive to their families.
The 37 miners reportedly died in the custody of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) following their arrest during an operation against alleged illegal mining. Survivors have alleged that the detainees were crammed into an overcrowded and poorly ventilated cell where they struggled to breathe. In response to the incident, the Federal Government suspended several NSCDC officials and constituted a panel to probe the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
Thirty-seven Nigerians, many of them teenagers, entered government custody alive. Thirty-seven of them died there. The Tinubu administration cannot explain away 37 bodies with press releases, suspensions and bureaucratic excuses.
Abubakar specifically targeted Ministers Dele Alake and Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who oversee the Ministry of Solid Mineral Development and the Ministry of Interior, respectively. He argued that Tunji-Ojo, who supervises the NSCDC, cannot claim credit for the agency's achievements while outsourcing responsibility for the deaths. Similarly, he criticized Alake for remaining "conspicuously silent" during the crisis, noting that silence in the face of such a catastrophe constitutes an abdication of responsibility.
The former Vice President drew a parallel to the 2014 Nigeria Immigration Service recruitment tragedy, in which at least 16 young Nigerians died. He noted that the supervising minister at the time, Abba Moro, was investigated and subsequently prosecuted. Abubakar questioned why the standard would be different today, asking if the lives of the victims were deemed less valuable because they were poor, unemployed, and accused of illegal mining.
Abubakar further stated that President Bola Tinubu bears "ultimate responsibility" for the conduct of his government and cannot act as a spectator during tragedies. He warned that suspending junior officers is not justice and urged for an immediate, independent criminal investigation rather than an internal inquiry, arguing that government officials should not be left to investigate their own agents.
<small>Source: The Sun Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
