Niger miners’ deaths: Police secure scene, begin evidence preservation

File Photo: Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu.

The Nigeria Police Force has secured the scene of the incident in Niger State where 37 suspected illegal miners died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, as part of efforts to preserve evidence for investigation.

The Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, disclosed this on Saturday after inspecting the scene alongside the Niger State Governor, Umar Bago, and other security officials.

Disu said the scene had to be secured and preserved to ensure that nothing was removed or added before investigations were concluded.

He said, “We have to keep the place safe, we have to keep it clean, we have to ensure that nothing is removed and nothing is added in the scene of the incident.”

The IGP said the police and other security agencies had moved around the area following demonstrations and riots sparked by the deaths, noting that the situation had become calm after the governor imposed a curfew.

“We noticed before past two, three hours ago, there have been a kind of demonstration, riot. People want to take laws into their hands, but luckily, decisively, the governor of the state have declared a curfew and the town is calm,” he said.

Disu appealed to residents to maintain peace, assuring them that the investigation would be transparent and that no relevant information would be concealed.

“We assure them that nothing will be kept out from their knowledge, we will not hide anything, and we will be transparent,” he said.

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He said the police would work with the committee set up by the state government, the NSCDC and other security agencies to establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

“The governor at the same time have set up a committee. We are going to work with the committee, we are going to work with the NSCDC and other security agencies to ensure that the truth is unravelled,” Disu said.

The deaths followed the arrest of suspected illegal miners at an illegal mining site in the state.

Bago had earlier said it was too early to determine the cause of the deaths, listing overcrowding and possible poisoning among the factors being investigated.

The governor said preliminary autopsy findings showed that some of the corpses had burns and peeling skin, while there was also foaming from the mouth and blood stains.

The state government has suspended mining activities across Niger pending the outcome of investigations, while the Federal Ministry of Mines has constituted a team of scientists and laboratory experts to investigate the incident.

The deaths had also triggered demonstrations and attacks on public and private property in parts of the state, prompting the governor to impose a curfew.