37 Miners’ Deaths: Survivors’ Account Of Sprayed Substance Cannot Be Ruled Out- Niger Governor

Niger State governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, said the account of survivors alleging that a substance was sprayed inside the detention facility where suspected illegal miners were held cannot be ruled out pending the outcome of investigations.

Bago made the statement during a live interview on Channels Television on Sunday while discussing the deaths of suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

A survivor had reportedly alleged that an unidentified substance was sprayed inside the cell where detainees were being held, after which some of those detained began to collapse. 

The governor, however, stressed that the circumstances surrounding the deaths were yet to be conclusively established.

Earlier reports said the NSCDC initially attributed the deaths to a suspected disease outbreak, but the Corps later clarified that the actual cause had not been established and would be determined through medical and laboratory examinations. 

Bago had also said that possible suffocation caused by overcrowding and exposure to hazardous substances were among the issues being considered in determining what led to the deaths.

The governor’s comments come as authorities continue efforts to establish what happened inside the NSCDC detention facility and determine whether any individual or institution should be held responsible.

Governor Bago said the exact cause of the deaths had yet to be established, noting that investigators were considering possible suffocation arising from overcrowding as well as exposure to hazardous substances.

He further disclosed that some of the victims vomited blood, while foam was observed around the mouths of some of the deceased, with some the skin of others seen with cuts , he added that these findings would have to be subjected to medical and forensic examination before any conclusion could be reached on what caused the deaths.

The governor also said the circumstances surrounding the deaths required a thorough investigation, particularly allegations concerning the conditions in which the miners were detained.

He stressed that the competing accounts and physical evidence would need to be examined by medical and forensic experts, as the authorities work to establish the precise circumstances that led to the deaths of the 37 detainees.