Women miners demand justice over deaths of 37 miners

By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA — Women in Mining Nigeria, WIMIN, has condemned the deaths of 37 artisanal miners who reportedly died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, in Niger State, describing the incident as tragic and demanding an independent investigation.

The organisation expressed condolences to the bereaved families, particularly mothers and other women who lost sons, brothers and breadwinners in the incident.

WIMIN said reports that some of the deceased were teenagers aged between 14 and 18 made the incident particularly disturbing.

The organisation also questioned the initial explanation attributed to the NSCDC that the deaths resulted from a “disease outbreak.”

According to WIMIN, accounts from survivors and what it described as intelligence reports indicated that overcrowding, extreme heat, dehydration and suffocation may have contributed to the deaths in a poorly ventilated facility where as many as 65 people were reportedly held in one cell.

The organisation alleged that survivors said they banged on the doors for help as fellow detainees collapsed, but that their pleas were ignored by guards on duty.

WIMIN said it aligned with positions attributed to the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, and the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, that every person, regardless of allegations against them, is entitled to due process and the right to life.

“Criminalising poverty and utilising lethal containment strategies against artisanal miners is an arbitrary deprivation of life and an affront to international human rights standards,” the organisation said.

It also condemned reports of the use of force and tear gas against grieving relatives and community members who reportedly took to the streets of Minna to demand answers over the deaths.

WIMIN said the incident should be considered against the socio-economic conditions confronting residents of Niger State, particularly poverty.

Citing data attributed to the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, the organisation said Niger State had a multidimensional poverty rate of 69.1 per cent.

It also cited World Bank data which it said indicated that 72.8 per cent of the state’s population lived below the extreme poverty line of $2.15 per day, while 92.9 per cent lived below $3.65 per day.

WIMIN also pointed to the state’s deposits of minerals including gold, lithium and tantalite, saying the resources had become an economic attraction for communities facing poverty and inadequate infrastructure.

The organisation said many residents had turned to artisanal mining as a means of livelihood amid difficult economic circumstances.

The Founder and National President of WIMIN, Engr. Janet Adeyemi, urged the government to abandon what she described as “iron fists and lethal containment strategies” in tackling alleged illegal mining in M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State and elsewhere.

Adeyemi said many young Nigerians involved in artisanal mining were driven into the sector by economic hardship and the need to provide for themselves and their families.

“We cannot continue to use iron fists and lethal containment strategies against young citizens who are driven into mining pits by the sheer desperation for survival.

“Mining, for these teenagers and young men, is an escape from hunger and extreme hardship,” she said.

Adeyemi added that criminalising poverty was unjust and urged the government to shift from aggressive enforcement to what she described as human-centred formalisation of the mining sector.

To prevent a recurrence, WIMIN called for an independent and transparent judicial inquiry into the deaths and prosecution of anyone found responsible.

The organisation also demanded an overhaul of detention conditions and a shift from criminalising artisanal mining towards formalising the sector.

It further called for stronger protection of children involved in mining, educational alternatives for vulnerable teenagers and support for families affected by the deaths.

“The state must enforce stricter child labour protections within the mining sector, providing educational alternatives so that teenagers are not driven to dangerous mining pits. The government must also adequately compensate the affected families for the loss of their loved ones,” WIMIN said.

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