Atiku Gives ₦20m to Families of 37 Miners, Says Hardship Is Driving Youths Into Danger

The first question was how 37 people died in government custody.

The next one is becoming harder to avoid: why were young Nigerians taking such risks in the first place?

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has donated ₦20 million to the families of the 37 suspected artisanal miners who died in NSCDC custody in Minna.

He made the donation during a visit to Minna, where he met families and survivors of the tragedy.

The deaths occurred on September 17 after the men were arrested during operations against suspected illegal mining.

The Federal Government has established a 10-member investigative committee, while 20 NSCDC officers, including the Niger State commandant, have been suspended pending the investigation.

Atiku said one survivor described extremely harsh detention conditions.

According to his account, more than 68 people were crammed into a small detention facility and some became so desperate for water that they drank urine.

That account has not itself established the cause of death, which remains under investigation.

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But Atiku wants the tragedy examined beyond the detention cell. He argued that poverty, unemployment and the cost of living are pushing young people towards dangerous and poorly regulated livelihoods.

That is an uncomfortable question.

Illegal mining is illegal. But if a young person sees a dangerous pit as a better economic option than unemployment, the law can punish the individual without necessarily solving the economic condition that produced the choice.

The government still has to answer the immediate question of what happened inside the NSCDC facility.

But it may also need to answer the larger one: Why are so many young Nigerians being forced to calculate survival against danger? ValidViewNetwork reports.