A surviving suspected illegal miner detained by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Niger State has alleged that a substance resembling perfume was sprayed inside an overcrowded cell shortly before detainees began collapsing.
The survivor, who spoke in Hausa during a televised address on Friday as reported by Channels TV, told Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago and the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, that the cell was initially occupied by 17 people before additional detainees were brought in.
He said the detainees repeatedly complained about the size and heat of the room but were allegedly ignored.
“They locked us in a very small room. We were 17 in number. Then they added more people. And we started complaining that the room was small. The room was very hot,” he said.
According to the survivor, officers later ordered the detainees to stand as they prepared to lock the cell.
He alleged that a substance with a smell similar to perfume was then sprayed inside the room.
“As they were about to lock the room, they sprayed something that looked like perfume, and the smell started disturbing everyone in the room, and that’s how people started falling down,” he said.
The survivor further claimed that conditions inside the cell became unbearable and that detainees pleaded with officers to provide them with water.
“The room became extremely hot. We pleaded with them to give us water, but they said no one would open the door for us that same night,” he alleged.
His account has not been independently verified and the substance he described has not been identified.
The allegation comes amid an investigation into the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners detained by the NSCDC in Niger State.
Governor Bago said on Friday that 67 artisanal and suspected illegal miners had been detained in the NSCDC facility before 37 of them died.
The detainees were arrested during NSCDC enforcement operations in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of the state on September 15 and 16.
The Corps initially said the deaths were suspected to have resulted from a disease outbreak after the detainees were found dead in the early hours of September 17.
It later said the actual cause of death had not been established and that medical and laboratory examinations would be conducted.
Bago said investigators were considering possible suffocation resulting from overcrowding as well as exposure to hazardous substances associated with mining activities.
He also said forensic, medical and biological experts had been deployed to collect samples, while autopsies were being conducted to determine the cause of death.
The Federal Government has ordered a full investigation into the incident.
The Minister of Interior also suspended the Niger State NSCDC Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, pending the outcome of the investigation.
The cause of the deaths and the circumstances surrounding the alleged spraying of the substance remain subjects of investigation.
