‘We Need His Remains’ – Parents Of Victims In Niger Mining Tragedy

Parents and relatives of suspected illegal miners who died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State, have appealed to authorities to release the bodies of their loved ones for burial, saying keeping the remains has added to their pain.

Some family members, who visited to identify their relatives, were left devastated after seeing the lifeless bodies of their children and appealed for immediate release of the remains.

Hauwa Umar (not her real name), whose nephew was among the deceased, in an interview with Zarar Bunu TV, urged the authorities to allow the family to bury him according to their wishes.

She said the family was not seeking compensation but wanted the remains returned to them.

“We don’t want our son in the mortuary. We need his remains. They cannot bring our son back, but they are holding his remains. This is sheer injustice,” she said.

Another relative, Ummi Halli (not her real name), also appealed for the release of her grandson’s remains, insisting that the victims were only trying to make a living.

“They committed no offence. They were earning their living legitimately. His younger brother came panting to tell me about the death of his elder brother. We need his remains immediately,” she said.

A security guard at A.A Rano filling station along Mai Tumbi, Malam Abdullahi, said he spent three days attempting to secure the release of his son from the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), but his efforts were unsuccessful.

Abdullahi said he was shocked when he returned with food for his son and discovered that he had died.

“I saw ambulances loaded with corpses. I took food to my son that night. I also took food to him in the morning, but found his lifeless body. I lost a breadwinner,” he said.