Survivors recount panic and struggle to breathe in Nigerian prison cell where 37 died

Family members of those who died gather outside Minna general hospital in Niger state. Photograph: Ibrahim Ndamitso/ReutersView image in fullscreenFamily members of those who died gather outside Minna general hospital in Niger state.

Fotografia: Ibrahim Ndamitso/ReutersNigeriaSobreviventes descrevem pânico e luta para respirar na cela de prisão nigeriana onde 37 morreram. Polícia lança gás lacrimogêneo enquanto protestos eruptam na cidade de Minna após mortes de supostos garimpeiros ilegais, muitos dos quais eram crianças.

Prefer the Guardian on GoogleSurvivors from a prison cell in Nigeria where 37 suspected illegal goldminers died while in the custody of a paramilitary group this week have recounted their panic and struggle for breath, as police on Friday fired teargas at people protesting against the deaths and imposed an overnight curfew in the city of Minna.

The victims – many of whom were children – were found dead on Thursday in the cells of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), which had raided suspected illegal gold mines and ⁠locked up dozens of miners in the city, the state capital of the mineral-rich state of Niger.

NSCDC – a paramilitary group that works with police – initially blamed the deaths on a disease outbreak. However, an intelligence report seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP) said preliminary information suggested that overcrowding and inadequate ventilation were responsible.

O governador estadual, Umar Bago, disse que muitos dos mortos eram crianças, com idades entre 14 e 18 anos, que estavam trabalhando nas minas em vez de frequentar a escola.

Dauda Shehu, a survivor from the cell, told journalists at a hospital on Friday: “We were jam-packed in the cell, no ventilation for us to breathe well. All of a sudden we realised that we could not breathe and we were all scampering for where to get fresh air, we even appealed to them several times, banged the cell door, but they refused to answer us.”.

A video shared online showed the bodies of dozens of young men clad only in shorts, most of whom appeared to be teenagers, sprawled on the ground out in the open.

Voluntários usando luvas podem ser vistos de pé sobre os mortos, enquanto mulheres de véu tentam identificar os corpos de seus parentes. Vozes gritando xingamentos sobre os responsáveis podem ser ouvidas ao fundo.

AFP reported that another survivor, who asked not to be named, said he had made it out alive because he was near the cell’s entrance, where he could breathe better.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ordered an investigation into the deaths after his government earlier suspended some senior officials.

But protests over the deaths broke out on Thursday evening in Minna. On Friday dozens of young people, including miners and their relatives, gathered near the NSCDC’s office in the city.

A polícia cercou a área e tentou dispersar os manifestantes disparando gás lacrimogêneo.

A Reuters witness saw security forces fire live rounds as protesters – ​some armed with sticks, machetes and traditional hunting rifles – called ‌for justice. Some protesters tried ‌to set fire to government buildings in the Tunga neighbourhood.

Soldiers and police officers patrolled Minna to try to restore order.

View image in fullscreenFamily members outside Minna general hospital. Protests over the deaths broke out on Thursday evening in the city. Photograph: Ibrahim Ndamitso/ReutersAs ⁠curfew began at 6pm local time on Friday, security forces appeared to have at least temporarily restored order to the streets of the city.

The NSCDC said the detainees had been held in raids on suspected illegal mines on 15 and 16 September in the Wushishi-Lukoto area west of Minna. Nigeria’s interior minister, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, ordered the immediate suspension of Niger state’s NSCDC commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, pending the outcome of an investigation.

O estado de Níger, que é o maior da Nigéria e tem mais do que o dobro do tamanho da Bélgica, é rico em minerais e atrai milhares de mineradores artesanais, a maioria atraída pelo ouro.

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Police and the NSCDC did not initially provide a precise number of deaths but the state governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, later confirmed 37 people had died.

A corrida por reservas de ouro extraídas de minas ilegais no estado de Níger está alimentando a violência de gangues criminosas, segundo autoridades e especialistas.

As gangues taxam os mineradores e exigem uma parte da minério extraído como taxa para permitir o acesso às jazidas.

A maior parte do ouro extraído ilegalmente é contrabandeado para os Emirados Árabes Unidos, onde é lavado na cadeia de suprimentos global na Europa, nos EUA, na Ásia e na África do Sul, segundo um relatório da Swissaid de 2024.

Apart from gold, the state of Niger sits on deposits of other minerals including tantalite, copper and lithium, which are in strong demand for use in electric vehicles and clean energy technology.

Agence France-Presse and Reuters contributed to this report.