37 suspected illegal miners- Justice must include rehabilitation, reparation and reintegration alongside accountability – Mrs Kanayo Olisa-Metuh.

The media space was on Monday agog with reports of the death of 37 suspected illegal miners while in custody in Niger State.

Reacting to the incident, the Niger State Governor has declared three days of mourning, describing the incident as “sad and tragic.”

However, a human rights advocate, Mrs. Kanayo Olisa Metuh, the Executive Director Legend Golden Care Foundation, has said that beyond the deaths themselves, what is truly sad and tragic is what the incident reveals about the vulnerability of people who are justice impacted.

Mrs. Kanayo Olisa Metuh noted that the cause of the deaths is still being investigated, stressing that the investigations must be transparent and credible, where all wrongdoing is established and those responsible held accountable.

“But justice cannot end with investigation and prosecution,” Mrs. Kanayo Olisa Metuh said.

“For people who are arrested and detained, the state assumes a profound responsibility for their safety and wellbeing. Allegations of torture, ill treatment, overcrowding and other violations in places of detention cannot become normalised or overlooked simply because people affected are accused of an offence,” she added.

Mrs. Kanayo Olisa Metuh lamented that violations in detention facilities receive little attention until there is death or until the number of deaths is too large to ignore.

“We must do better. The victims/survivors deserve justice and justice must include rehabilitation, reparation and reintegration alongside accountability. It must extend beyond the survivor to the families who bear the emotional, psychological and economic consequences of what happened. And for those who have died, their families deserve accountability and appropriate reparation,” the statement read.

It called on authorities not to look away when the headlines fade, adding: “We are watching. We are waiting. We will continue to demand justice – not only for those who died, but for every person whose dignity is placed at risk in custody.”

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