NBA names team to probe death of 37 miners in Niger

The Nigerian Bar Association has said it will not be a spectator in the investigation into the deaths of 37 persons in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Minna, Niger State.

The association said it had constituted a team headed by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former General Secretary of the NBA, Jonathan Gunu Taidi, SAN, to independently establish the circumstances surrounding the arrest, detention and deaths of the detainees.

The NBA President, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday, following reports of the deaths of persons arrested on suspicion of illegal mining.

The team, according to the statement, will engage with the families of the deceased, surviving detainees and their families, as well as relevant authorities, while monitoring the investigations already underway.

“The Nigerian Bar Association will take its constitutional and institutional watchdog role seriously,” the statement said.

The association said it expected all relevant evidence to be preserved, proper forensic and medical investigations conducted, and surviving detainees and other material witnesses protected and allowed to give their accounts without intimidation.

It also said the findings of the investigations should be made public to the fullest extent permitted by law.

The NBA called for a thorough, independent, transparent and credible investigation into the deaths, saying the fact that 37 Nigerians entered government custody alive and did not return to their families alive demanded answers.

“The deaths of 37 persons while in the custody of a government agency is an event of the utmost gravity and demands a thorough, independent, transparent and credible investigation,” the statement said.

The association said investigators must establish how the detainees died within such a short period, the conditions in which they were held, the lawful capacity of the facility, the medical attention available and the scientific cause of death.

It also urged authorities to investigate reports concerning overcrowding, lack of ventilation, the treatment of detainees and the circumstances immediately preceding the deaths.

“The NBA will not repeat allegations as established facts, nor will we prejudge those who may ultimately be called upon to answer for what occurred,” the statement said.

“But neither should credible allegations concerning overcrowding, lack of ventilation, the treatment of detainees and the circumstances immediately preceding the deaths be ignored. They must be investigated and either established or disproved by evidence.”

The NBA also said the investigation should go beyond the circumstances of the deaths to establish the ownership and control of the mining operations where the detainees were arrested.

The association stressed that those carrying out physical labour at mining sites should not be the only people targeted if others organised, financed or profited from the operations.

“But enforcement cannot stop with the people performing physical labour at a mining site. Where illegal mining operations are organised, financed or commercially exploited by other persons, the law must also reach those who own, finance, control and ultimately profit from those operations,” the NBA said.

It urged the relevant authorities to establish the ownership and control of the mining operations and pursue everyone found responsible.

“We therefore urge the relevant authorities, as part of the wider investigation, to establish the ownership and control of the mining operations concerned and, where offences are disclosed, to pursue every person in the chain of responsibility without fear or favour,” the association said.

The NBA also stressed that the deceased were suspects and had not been convicted of any offence.

“A suspect is not a convict, whether rich or poor, powerful or powerless,” it said, adding that the presumption of innocence must guide the treatment of every person from the moment the state takes away their liberty.

The association further raised concerns over reports that children were among those detained and possibly among the deceased, saying the ages and identities of those involved must be officially established.

It said the investigation should determine who put children at the mining sites, who controlled the operations and whether they were victims of exploitation.

The NBA acknowledged the steps already taken by government, including the suspension of the Niger State Commandant of the NSCDC, investigative mechanisms set up by the NSCDC and Niger State Government, interventions by the Nigeria Police Force and Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, and the intervention of the Minister of Interior.

It also noted President Bola Tinubu’s directive for a full and transparent investigation and accountability for anyone found responsible through abuse, negligence or dereliction of duty.

The association, however, said the effectiveness of the response would ultimately depend on the independence and thoroughness of the investigations, transparency of their findings and accountability arising from them.

The NBA urged citizens to remain calm and allow the investigations to proceed, saying violence and destruction would not restore the lives lost.

It said where evidence disclosed criminal or other legal responsibility, those responsible should be brought before the law “irrespective of rank or office.”

“And when that process reaches the courts, the Nigerian Bar Association will be there,” the statement said.