33 Nigerian miners suffocated in detention, probe says

Investigators in Nigeria said Tuesday that 33 young men arrested on suspicion of illegal gold mining died from suffocation and respiratory failure after being held in a crowded, poorly ventilated cell in Minna, the capital of Niger state.

The men had been arrested in September by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, a paramilitary government agency. Jonathan Kure, head of the investigating team, said 74 detainees were held in a cell with a solid metal door, inadequate airflow, no running water, poor lighting and no working toilet.

Kure said medical and forensic evidence showed the deaths resulted from environmental asphyxia and acute respiratory failure caused by prolonged confinement in severe overcrowding, aggravated by heat stress and dehydration.

Survivors told investigators they were packed into the cell and that a substance stinging their throats and noses was sprayed inside before the door was shut. Kure said detainees repeatedly banged on doors and walls, shouted for help and pleaded for water, but officers nearby did not act.

The deaths occurred over 11 hours, from 8:00 pm to 7:00 am local time. The panel said the conditions amounted to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

Niger state authorities initially gave a death toll of 37, but the committee said it verified 33 deaths because higher early figures could not be reconciled with records and identified victims. Kure said 14 of the dead were minors.

The civil defence agency initially blamed the deaths on disease, but investigators dismissed that explanation and called the tragedy preventable.