Survivors of an incident in which 37 suspected illegal gold miners died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State have described struggling to breathe inside an overcrowded cell. The survivors gave their accounts during a visit by the Minister of Interior, Tunji Ojo, to the state.
One survivor said 17 detainees were initially locked in a small room before more were brought in. He said they complained about the room’s size and intense heat, but were still kept inside.
“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,” he said.
According to him, the situation worsened as the room was about to be locked and an unidentified substance, which he said looked like perfume, was sprayed inside.
“As they were about to lock the room, they sprayed something that looked like perfume, and the smell started disturbing everyone in the room,” he said.
The survivor said people then began falling as the room became increasingly hot. They pleaded for water, but were allegedly told that nobody would open the door.
“We pleaded with them to give us water, but they said no one would open the door for us,” he said.
He said the ordeal continued into the night, although his account did not immediately make clear what happened afterwards.
Another survivor said he survived because he was close to the cell entrance, where he could breathe better.