Northern Senators grieve over mass death in NSCDC custody, demand probe

Serving Senators from the North Saturday bemoaned mass deaths of inmates at the detention facility of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps ( NSCDC) in Minna, capital of Niger state .

They in a statement issued by Chairman of the Northern Senators’ Forum , Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’Adua (Katsina Central), called for an immediate, transparent and independent investigation into the entire chain of events that tragically culminated into deaths of the estimated 37 young Nigerians.

They likened deaths of the alleged 37 illegal miners in Minna NSCDC  cell ,  to what Auschwitz was , during the second world , as a notorious killing centre through horrifying confinement of suspects and deprivation of dignity.

“The circumstances surrounding their deaths, in which they were reportedly confined in a small room and cried for help before they choked to death, are deeply disturbing.

“History has taught humanity how horrifying confinement can become when helpless people are deprived of dignity and treated as though their lives have no value.

“At Auschwitz and other Nazi killing centres during the Holocaust, countless helpless men, women and children were imprisoned under brutal conditions, with many deliberately suffocated in gas chambers.

“The Northern Senators Forum therefore demands an immediate, transparent and independent investigation into the entire chain of events that led to deaths of the 37 young Nigerians “, they said .

In probing the tragic incidents , the Northern Senators added that “Nigerians must know who ordered the arrests, where the detainees were taken, who authorized their detention in the facility, whether the room was fit for human habitation, when the distress calls were made, who heard them, what action was taken, and the precise circumstances in which each victim died”

The investigation according to them, should involve the National Human Rights Commission, the Nigerian Bar Association, credible civil society organisations and independent forensic experts.

“We equally demand independent autopsies for all 37 victims, with representatives of the families and independent pathologists allowed to participate.

“Their families deserve the truth, not conjecture. If criminal negligence, unlawful detention, reckless conduct or any deliberate act contributed to these deaths, those responsible must be prosecuted, irrespective of their rank or position”, they stressed .