Grief sat conspicuously on the faces of family members of the 37 alleged illegal miners in M.I Wushishi Estate, Niger State, raided and detained by officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) but later died in custody.

Some of the survivors and bereaved families who spoke to the Peoples Gazette narrated the economic struggles that forced their loved ones into illegal mining before their death in the corps’ detention facility.

This reporter observed that several underage children in Minna, the state capital, have abandoned their educational pursuits for mining to earn a living to support themselves and their families.

During an encounter with one of the grieving families, a Katsina State indigene residing in the Tunga area of Minna, Yusuf Mohammed, said five of his brothers were among those detained by the NSCDC operatives.

He said three of them died on Thursday, one was hale and hearty while another one was receiving treatment after his release from detention.

“The event affected our family because we lost three of our brothers and one is still in a hospital,” he told The Gazette.

Mr Mohammed said before the deaths of the miners became public, he went to the NSCDC facility where the miners were detained but he was denied entry.

He stated, “We were not allowed to enter inside.”

He added that his five brothers were captured by the NSCDC at Dandakuwa Junction, noting that the miners went to buy food before they were arrested.

He noted, “Someone called me and told me that the miners had been arrested. When I got there, I was not allowed to see them. But I learnt that they were packed inside the corp’s patrol van at the mining site and driven to the NSCDC facility where they were detained. We have not really established the reason for their arrest.”

Mr Mohammed said the day he was chased away from the NSCDC headquarters, he was filled with emotions as he left for Paiko, a neighbouring town, for business.

He added, “I was in Paiko when my brother called that the boys had died. I was told that their corpses has been taken to the general hospital and I told him to go to their.”

He claimed that unemployment pushed young children to mining in the state.

Mr Muhammed added, “The government didn’t support us. But now that youths were trying to fend for themselves, the NSCDC officials them.”

Escaped death by a whisker

Earlier, during the state governor, Umar Bago’s visit to the NSCDC office, some of the survivors claimed that the corps sprayed a substance in their cell with no ventilation and food.

They reaffirmed the same claim to this newspaper.

It was however discovered that girls were among miners arrested at the site by the NSCDC officials and taken to their office.

One of them who is 22-year-old Amina Yahaya said she was arrested immediately she alighted from a tricycle.

The young lady whose voice was laced with pain claimed that she was detained without water or food.

She stated, “Myself and some others alighted from a tricycle to go to the mining site and they picked us immediately into their car and drove us to their office.”

Ms Yahaya told The Gazette that their details were obtained before the officials took to a cell and locked them up for three days.

Dressed in a red hijab, the girl said she often skipped classes to fend for her family struggling to survive the country’s harsh economic situation.

 “We were many in the cell and I spent three days there. I have vowed never to return to the mining site because of what I suffered,” she said.

Another female survivor, Nafisat Gambo, who lives in Maitumbi outside Minna, said she was arrested at M.I Wushishi mining site.

“We went out in the morning to go the mining site at M.I Wushishi. When we arrived in the tricycle, we were immediately arrested by some NSCDC officials,” she said.

She noted that she pleaded with the officials to spare them but they refused and bundled them into their patrol van parked around the site.

“We were taken to their office. Some of our mothers came and pleaded for bail but they didn’t listen to them,” she said.

She added that by evening on the day of their arrest, her mother became aware of his detention at the NSCDC centre and brought food with her while visiting with some other villagers.

However, she claimed that her mother was denied entry and she returned home with the food.

“From 7 a.m, until evening, we were not given food. My mother came with food but she was not allowed to give me the food. I didn’t even see her because we were in a cell when she came,” she told The Gazette.

According to her, when some of the female detainees complained that the cell was too small for them, they took them out and replaced them with male miners.

“There was no ventilation. In the morning, the boys complained of heat. They should have opened to let them get some fresh air,” Ms Gambo stated.

She added that one of the NSCDC officials opened the door when people began dying but left again later, adding that they heard the shouting for help, but unsure anyone came to their aid.

She said, “They didn’t beat us. But they didn’t even give us water. Our parents brought us food. They didn’t allow them to give us food but I heard that some mothers were allowed some times.”

M.I Wushishi residents decry polluted mining site

When this reporter visited the mining site, the estate residents lamented that miners had polluted their environment especially when mining during the night.

A resident, Hassan Mahmud, said that the persistent noise from miners in the estate disturbed residents day and night.

“This mining has affected us a lot. At first, we thought it was just a few people but they started increasing,” he said. 

Mr Mahmud noted apart from nonstop mining activities which forced disturbing residents’ sleep, they also felt unsafe and feared contracting diseases.  

“We no longer feel safe especially for our children and women. We have had reported cases of missing livestock and some household items,” he added.

He stated that residents of the estate had complained about miners digging indiscriminately, including excavating open pits, polluting water sources and using chemicals to process gold.

“Some people in my area complain of rashes, coughs and stomach pain,” he said, adding that farmers also complained that regular gold processing was affecting their yields.

Also, 29-year-old resident of the area, Fati Ahmed, said the chemicals used by miners in the estate had caused distress among residents.

Like Mr Mahmud, she said residents’ property had been stolen in the past and life made unbearable for them in the estate.

“We try by all means to resist fighting them because they are armed and we value our lives. We don’t engage in a fight with them because that is what they want,” she said.

Ms Ahmed appealed to the government to come to their aid, claiming that the fences they erected were demolished.

A resident of the estate and lecturer at the Federal Polytechnic, Bida, Ahmad Abubakar, explained that mining in the area affected him and his family.

“Mining has affected my family and me significantly. As a result of the mining activities, we live in constant fear in the community,” he said. 

Like other residents, Mr Sadiq said their lives and property were not safe from theft by artisanal miners in the estate.

He stated, “We have recorded cases of stealing. Several property and houses have been destroyed. Some people left their houses as a result of insecurity caused by the miners’ activities.” 

He added that he advised residents not to fights the miners. 

The lecturer noted, “The other issue not necessarily about chemicals. They dig up our households, it’s a major problem. The situation has stopped our community from developing. People no longer build houses around us. Some that have houses in the area sold them to go to other places for them to feel safe.”

The dead miners’ list

The NSCDC suspended some of the indicted operatives to appear before the committee set up by the federal government to probe the incident. It also named them.

Likewise, the 37 dead miners were also identified. They include Ibrahim Sanı, Fahad Saadu, Abdulsalam Ismail, Uzalfa Alıyu, Abdullahi Nahibi, Sani Nasir, Sunusi Khalid,

Ahmad Aliyu, Safiyanu Abdullahi, Suleman Dantala, Idris Haruna, Sami Yakubu, Safiyanu Abubakar,

Abdullahi Abubakar, Abubakar Musa, Abdul Mudassır, Suleman Lawal, Usman Abdullahi, Samuel Sambo, Ibrahım Musa, Yusuf Nasiru and Umar Lawal.

Others are Isyaku Amisu, Bissallah Adamu, Abdul Bari Suleiman,

Shafiu Lado, Usman Ahmad, Usman Ibrahim, Sani Isyaku, Musa Ibrahim, Idris Bashir, Kabiru Suleiman, Emmanuel Emeka, Mưawıya Abdulkarım, AbdulGafar Abulkarim, Usman Haruna and Yaro Salihu Soba.

Business returns at mining site

On Monday, when our reporter visited the mining site, some miners had returned there, claiming that they cannot be idle

Among them is Muhammad Umar who started mining at the site four years ago. He said the killing of his cows by bandits left him with no option than to fend for himself by taking to mining.

The 22-year-old Umar said he was lucky not to have been arrested by the NSCDC officials since he started working at the mining site.

He stated, “It has been four years since I started mining here. I do this because there is no job. I used to rear cows but bandits killed them. I had to leave to come here to work and sustain myself,” he said.

“I was not arrested because I was not at the site the day the NSCDC officials came. But before the incident, they used to raid the place with their vehicle and sometimes arrest some of us. They could chase us and collect our mining instruments.” 

ALeo, 20-year-old miner, Murjanatu Rabiu, who said he began fending for herself through mining barely a year ago, told The Gazette that her reason for mining was to survive.

She said, “It is better for me to engage in mining than to steal. These NSCDC men have tormented us. They often came here to beat us and insult us.”

Ms Rabiu stated that she was once arrested and paid N20,000 to secure her release. She, however, noted that it would be hard for her to quit mining without getting another means of sustenance because she has to cater to herself and family members.

The unmarried 22-year-old lady noted that she would forever remember the three days she spent in the NSCDC’s custody in Niger State. 

Ms Rabiu stated, “I was arrested in the past. I was not given water or food during the three days I was in detention. It was a difficult experience for me.”

Efforts to get the reaction of the Niger State govenment on what it was doing to support the youth making a living at the mining site were futile.

The state commissioner for Information and Orientation, Obed Nana, could not be reached for comments on the issue.

He had also yet to respond to messages sent to his mobile as of the time this report was filed.