‘Tinubu Govt Has Made Insecurity Profitable’ – ADC

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called for an independent investigation into the deaths of 37 miners in Niger State, demanding that the identities of the deceased be established and their families compensated.

Naija News reports that the opposition party also called for autopsies and the prosecution of any government officials found culpable in the deaths.

In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, on Friday, the ADC said the circumstances surrounding the deaths required a transparent investigation.

The party also demanded the release of the victims’ detention records and called for an investigation that would establish what happened to the miners after their arrest.

The ADC said the miners were alive when they were taken into government custody but were later returned to their families as corpses.

The statement said, “Thirty-seven Nigerians entered government custody alive. Their families are now being asked to receive their bodies. This is an indictment of this government about the value of the average Nigerian life.

“Low-income Nigerians are not disposable, and no Nigerian should lose his or her life simply because they were arrested while struggling to survive.”

The party expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and argued that the miners retained their constitutional rights despite being arrested during raids on mining sites.

“We must be clear: poverty is not a capital offence. Unemployment is not a death sentence. No accusation, whatever the case, gives any government institution the right to return citizens to their families in body bags,” the party added.

The opposition party urged the authorities to conduct independent autopsies and publicly disclose the identities of the deceased.

It also demanded access to detention records, compensation for the bereaved families and the prosecution of any official found responsible for the deaths.

The ADC said determining the cause and circumstances of the deaths was necessary to establish accountability.

The party also linked the incident to the wider economic difficulties facing Nigerians, arguing that unemployment and the rising cost of living had pushed some citizens into hazardous means of earning a livelihood.

The ADC said, “The same APC-led federal government that has failed to provide jobs is now criminalising the desperation created by its own policies.

“Food is unaffordable, transportation has become a luxury, businesses are closing, and legitimate opportunities are disappearing. Yet, rather than confront these failures, the government continues to punish the victims of its failures.

“The poor are arrested for digging to survive, while the powerful men who finance illegal mining, sponsor insecurity and cart away Nigeria’s mineral wealth remain beyond the reach of the law.

“The Tinubu administration has made honest work scarce, survival expensive and insecurity profitable.”