Atiku Donates ₦20m To Families Of 37 Miners Who Died In NSCDC Custody

Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has donated ₦20 million to families of the 37 suspected artisanal miners who died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State.

Atiku made the donation when he visited Minna, where he condoled with the Emir of Minna and Chairman of the Minna Emirate Council, Alhaji (Dr.) Umar Farouk Bahago.

He also visited former military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd.), before meeting with families and survivors of the incident.

In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described the deaths as a painful reminder of the vulnerability of young Nigerians struggling to survive amid severe economic pressures.

The former vice president said Nigeria could not secure its future without deliberately investing in young people, expanding opportunities for them and enabling them to pursue legitimate and productive livelihoods.

Atiku said it was particularly harrowing listening firsthand to the account of one of the survivors.

“It was a gory tale listening to one of the survivors. He told us that more than 68 of them were crammed into one small detention facility and that conditions became so desperate that they had to drink one another’s urine just to stay hydrated.

“No Nigerian should ever be subjected to such indignity in the custody of his own government. These were human beings in the care of the state. Whatever accusations may have been made against them, they were entitled to their lives, their dignity and the protection of the law.”

He said the fact that many young Nigerians were being driven into hazardous and poorly regulated occupations should compel the government to confront the deeper issues of poverty, unemployment and the cost-of-living crisis.

“Thirty-seven young Nigerians entered the custody of the state alive and did not return alive to their families. That tragedy demands truth, justice and accountability.

“Beyond establishing what happened in that detention facility, we must also ask why so many of our young people are being pushed into dangerous and precarious livelihoods simply to survive.”

Atiku further said the deaths should compel the Tinubu administration to reflect on the human consequences of economic policies that, according to him, had placed enormous pressure on households and diminished opportunities for millions of young Nigerians.

“When families can no longer afford the basics and young people are forced to take extraordinary risks just to earn a living, government cannot pretend that everything is working.

“Economic reform must ultimately be measured by what it does to the lives of ordinary people. If life becomes progressively more difficult for families, workers and young people, then government has a responsibility to reconsider the choices producing those outcomes.”

Meanwhile, the Commandant-General of the NSCDC, Prof. Ahmed Audi, has assured families of the deceased that no officer found culpable in the incident would be shielded from justice.

Audi gave the assurance during a condolence visit to the Emir of Minna, the parents of the deceased and the family of the survivor.

The visit came as the Federal Government continues its investigation into the deaths, with the Presidency constituting a committee to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and determine responsibility.

The NSCDC boss, who personally met with the affected families, expressed condolences over the deaths and acknowledged the grief suffered by the families and the wider community.

He pledged that the Corps would cooperate fully with the presidential investigative committee, stressing that justice and transparency would take precedence over institutional considerations.

Audi said relevant NSCDC personnel had already been placed in protective custody to ensure their availability to investigators and facilitate an unhindered investigation.

“The Corps will not shield anyone found culpable,” the NSCDC chief assured the families, according to a statement by the Corps’ National Public Relations Officer, Babawale Afolabi.