By Camillus Eboh
ABUJA, Oct 27 (Reuters) – A group of 37 suspected illegal miners died in detention in Nigeria as a result of severe overcrowding, poor ventilation and neglect, according to a government investigation into their deaths.
The investigating committee, set up after the deaths last month sparked outrage in Nigeria, rejected earlier claims by officials that an outbreak of disease was to blame and called for compensation for victims and survivors as well as an overhaul of the agency involved.
The deaths, which included many teenagers working in artisanal gold mines, triggered protests in Nigeria, raising fresh concerns about conditions in detention facilities and the treatment of suspects awaiting trial.
Jonathan Kure, chairman of the committee, said the deaths were “entirely preventable” and a result of severe overcrowding, deprivation of basic necessities and ignored warnings.
“The tragedy demonstrates the consequences of systemic disregard for detention standards, supervisory responsibilities, and the welfare of persons in custody,” Kure said after his committee reviewed evidence, including detention records, autopsies, hospital reports and communication logs.
NSCDC officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The evidence showed the victims died from asphyxia, an acute respiratory failure caused by prolonged confinement in a severely overcrowded, poorly ventilated cell, worsened by heat stress and dehydration, Kure said.
“The evidence did not support claims that the deaths resulted from a disease outbreak,” Kure said.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the paramilitary agency that locked up the miners as part of efforts to regulate mining, initially suggested the detainees may have died from an unspecified disease before later saying the cause had not been established.
The panel recommended 30 million naira (about $22,500) in compensation for each victim’s family and 10 million naira for each of the 41 survivors.
The findings are in line with testimonies from survivors who told Reuters that dozens of artisanal miners were crammed into a small holding cell and repeatedly ignored after complaining of overcrowding.
The government has suspended senior NSCDC officials pending the investigation, but the panel called for a sweeping overhaul of the agency’s leadership.
($1 = 1,337.5900 naira)
(Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by David Lewis and Ros Russell)
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