Hafsat Saidu, mother of one of the suspected illegal miners who died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State, has accused the agency of extorting N45,000 from her before she was released from detention in a previous arrest.
Saidu, who spoke in Hausa to TheCable, also alleged that her son and other detainees died after chemicals were sprayed inside the NSCDC cell where they were being held.
The allegations came after the NSCDC said scores of suspected illegal miners arrested during operations around the Lt Gen Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi Estate in Minna, the Niger State capital, died in custody.
The corps had said the arrests were made during operations conducted on September 15 and 16.
Suberu Aniviye, NSCDC commandant in Niger State, said in a statement on Thursday that “scores of the detained suspects were found dead in the early hours of Thursday following a suspected outbreak of disease”.
Following the deaths, the Federal Government suspended the Niger State NSCDC commandant and ordered a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Saidu said she had previously been arrested by NSCDC personnel at a mining site and spent five days in detention.
“They had never arrested my children before until now, but they have arrested me in the past. I spent five days in their cell. We begged for bail, but they refused,” she said.
According to her, her children repeatedly brought food to her while she remained in detention.
Saidu said she eventually pleaded with a senior NSCDC officer to release her on compassionate grounds.
She alleged that the officer initially refused to release her but later agreed to her request after she followed him to his vehicle.
“On the fifth day, I met one of their bosses, who is Yoruba. I told him I have children and grandchildren and begged him to help grant my bail,” she said.
“He refused and even pushed me away with his leg while I was holding onto his feet, pleading with him. We followed him all the way to his car until he finally agreed.
“He said we must pay N10,000 for the bail, plus another N5,000 for someone to follow me and verify my house. Another lady who was detained was charged N10,000.
“In total, they extorted N45,000 from us before they finally released me.”
Saidu said her arrest occurred despite the gold in her possession being worth only N3,900 at the time.
“They arrested me that one time when the gold I had on me was worth only N3,900, and I spent five days there,” she said.
She also alleged that the conditions in the detention facility were deplorable.
“We slept in the exact same place where we urinated. We had to use our mats to cover the urine and sleep right on top of it. We were not praying from the moment we were arrested,” she said.
On the recent incident, Saidu alleged that several of her children were among those arrested during the NSCDC operation, with only one surviving.
“They arrested the boys and filled their vehicle with them. My children were among them, and only one survived,” she said.
“When we brought food for him, we were told that he was dead, and that a lot of other people had died too.”
Saidu disputed the NSCDC's explanation that the deaths may have resulted from an outbreak of disease.
She alleged instead that the detainees were exposed to a chemical substance while in custody.
“My son said they sprayed something resembling mosquito spray, and immediately after spraying it, they locked the cell door,” she said.
“Their throats started drying up, and one of them even had to drink his own urine.”
Saidu claimed that more than 30 people subsequently died and called on the Niger State Government to intervene.
“This has never happened in Niger State before. We do not accept this explanation,” she said.
“We told them that they had killed our people and that they must give us justice.”
She also alleged that security personnel prevented relatives and protesters from gaining access to the state governor when they attempted to seek his intervention.
“The soldiers who were present ordered us to leave or face arrest,” she said.
“When we insisted on seeing the governor, they told us we would not be allowed to see him, and that if we didn’t leave, we would be arrested.”
Saidu said the deaths had left affected families in severe economic difficulty, particularly because some of those who died were their primary breadwinners.
“I swear to God, we don’t even have anything to eat right now. In fact, I am out here at this moment looking for any work just so we can feed ourselves,” she said.
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