Presidential aspirant of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Yakubu Mohammed Kingsley, has urged the Jonathan Kure led probe committee to conduct a thorough, transparent, and impartial investigation into the deaths of 37 suspected artisanal miners who died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State. Some of the victims were reportedly teenagers. Kingsley made the call in a statement issued in Abuja.
The Federal Government recently inaugurated a 10-member independent investigative committee into the incident, chaired by retired Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services, Jonathan Kure. Former Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, Prof Isa Hayatu Chiroma, SAN, serves as secretary of the committee. The committee's task is to unravel the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the suspected miners.
According to Kingsley, survivors' accounts of detainees packed into an overcrowded cell, struggling to breathe and calling for help before dying, demand answers from the institution meant to protect them. He emphasized that the victims, regardless of the circumstances leading to their detention, remained human beings whose lives deserved protection, dignity, and humane treatment.
Beyond the immediate tragedy, Kingsley linked the deaths to a wider crisis: young Nigerians, including children, being pushed into dangerous illegal mining by poverty and lack of formal employment in mineral-rich communities. He noted that this did not excuse illegal mining or environmental destruction, but stressed that enforcement alone could not address a problem whose roots also lay in poverty, unemployment, and the absence of viable alternatives.
Kingsley used the opportunity to promote his YMK Nigeria Project's resource-governance framework, which aims to make mining communities recognized stakeholders with rights to development, jobs, infrastructure, and grievance mechanisms. The framework also seeks to formalize artisanal mining through regulation, training, and access to finance. He believes this approach can help address the underlying issues driving the miners' deaths.
The PRP presidential hopeful extended condolences to the families of the victims and the Niger State government. He expressed hope that the victims would not be allowed to become another statistic and emphasized the need for a thorough investigation into the incident. Kingsley is currently awaiting a November 2 Federal High Court judgment on a dispute over PRP's presidential primary.
The incident has raised concerns about the treatment of suspects by security agencies and the need for more effective measures to address the issue of illegal mining in Nigeria. Kingsley's call for a transparent investigation into the Mina deaths is seen as a crucial step towards unraveling the truth and ensuring that those responsible are held accountable.
Key points
- Yakubu Mohammed Kingsley calls for a thorough investigation into the deaths of 37 suspected artisanal miners in Minna, Niger State.
- The incident is linked to a wider crisis of young Nigerians being pushed into dangerous illegal mining by poverty and lack of formal employment.
- Kingsley promotes his YMK Nigeria Project's resource-governance framework as a solution to address the underlying issues driving the miners' deaths.
