Survivors recount NSCDC cell ordeal where 37 miners died, alleging overcrowding, heat and perfume-like spray inside cell room
Survivors of the tragedy that claimed 37 suspected illegal gold miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, have broken their silence.
They have narrated what happened inside the cell where they were kept.
One of the survivors gave a chilling account of the events leading to the deaths. He said the ordeal started with 17 detainees.
According to him, they were locked inside a very small room. The space was already tight. Then, more detainees were brought in.
The detainees complained immediately. They told the officers that the room was too small and the heat was intense. But they 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,” the survivor said.
He explained that the situation got worse moments later. The detainees were ordered to stand up as the room was about to be locked.
It was at that point that an unidentified substance was allegedly sprayed inside the cell.
The survivor described the substance as something that looked like perfume. He said the smell quickly filled the small room and started choking everyone 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 recounted.
The incident has sparked serious concern about detention conditions. The exact cause of the deaths is yet to be officially confirmed.
As of the time of filing this report, the NSCDC is yet to issue an official statement on the allegations raised by the survivors.
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