The names of 37 suspected illegal miners who died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State have emerged following the incident in Minna, the state capital.
The victims were among scores of suspects arrested during operations conducted on September 15 and 16 around the Lt. Gen. Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi Estate in Minna.
Suberu Aniviye, who was the NSCDC commandant in the state at the time, had said scores of detainees 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 an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
In a publication on Monday, the International Human Rights Commission told TheCable that it had compiled a list of the deceased.
Awaisu Giwa, an International Peace Ambassador with the IHRC, said the organisation obtained an initial list from records at the General Hospital, Minna.
“We got the list from the CMD of the general hospital. It was written by the mortuary attendant for us, but we are going to the hospital tomorrow for the list to be on the official letterhead of the hospital,” Giwa said.
He added, “The CMD was the one who instructed the mortuary attendant to give us the names. Some people whose relatives were missing are beginning to report in our office.”
According to the report, four additional names were subsequently provided by relatives of victims whose names were not included in the initial hospital record.
Giwa said the list would also be used to facilitate compensation for the families of those who died.
The deceased were identified as:
- Ibrahim Sani
- Fahad Sa’adu
- Abdulsalam Ismail
- Usman Aliyu
- Abubakar Alhaji
- Sani Nasir
- Sanusi Khalid
- Ahmad Aliyu
- Safiyanu Abdullahi
- Suleiman Dantala
- Idris Haruna
- Sani Yakubu
- Safiyanu Abubakar
- Abdullahi Abubakar
- Abubakar Musa
- Abdul Mudassir
- Suleiman Lawal
- Usman Abdullahi
- Samuel Sambo
- Ibrahim Musa
- Yusuf Nasiru
- Umar Lawal
- Isyaku Amisu
- Bissallah Adamu
- Abdulbari Suleiman
- Shafisu Lado
- Usman Ahmad
- Usman Ibrahim
- Sani Isyaku
- Musa Ibrahim
- Idris Bashir
- Kabiru Suleiman
- Emmanuel Emeka
- Mu’awiya AbdulKarim
- Abdul Gafar Abubakar
- Usman Haruna
- Yaro Salihu Soba
