The controversy surrounding the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in Niger State has taken a fresh turn after a survivor identified former military Head of State Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida as the alleged owner of the gold-mining site where the men were arrested.
The claim was made by Malam Babawo Tudun Nasera, whose 17-year-old brother, Salim, was among those arrested and later died in Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps custody.
Nasera said the miners were working at the site when NSCDC officers arrived and ordered them to stop. He claimed the miners continued because the person he identified as the owner had instructed them to keep working.
Asked who owned the site, Nasera identified the owner as “Babangida” and, when asked to clarify, confirmed that he meant retired General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, popularly known as IBB.
He further claimed that Babangida had told the miners to continue working.
IBB rejects allegation
Babangida has since denied any connection with the mining operation. Through his representative, Dr Danladi Umar Abdulhameed, the former military ruler described the allegation as false, baseless and without foundation.
Abdulhameed said Babangida had “no connection whatsoever” with the mining operation and demanded that the impression created by the allegation be corrected.
The denial means that the reported ownership of the site is now a disputed claim, not an established fact.
It also remains unclear whether the survivor was referring to ownership of the land, a mining lease, the mining operation itself or another form of association.
No independent official record establishing Babangida as the owner of the particular site has been produced.
What happened to the miners?
The ownership dispute comes as authorities investigate one of the most disturbing detention-related incidents reported in Niger State this year.
The suspected miners were arrested during an operation against illegal mining and taken into NSCDC custody.
According to Nasera, his brother and other detainees remained in custody for about three days before relatives learnt that some had died. He said the families had tried to secure their release but were unsuccessful.
Other survivors have separately alleged overcrowding, extreme heat and poor ventilation inside the detention facility.
Some have also made claims about an unidentified substance allegedly used inside the cell. Those allegations have not been established as the cause of death.
The NSCDC and Niger State authorities have maintained that the actual cause of the deaths must be determined through medical, laboratory and forensic examinations.
Investigation now carries greater weight
President Bola Tinubu has ordered a full and transparent investigation into the deaths, while authorities have taken administrative action within the NSCDC as the inquiry continues.
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The Niger State Government has also ordered forensic examinations and autopsies to establish what caused the deaths.
Babangida, despite denying any connection to the mine, has separately condemned the deaths and backed a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
ValidViewNetwork reports that investigators now face several questions: who operated the mining site, whether the miners were legally authorised to work there, why they were detained, what happened during their time in custody and what caused the deaths.
Until the investigations and forensic examinations are completed, neither the alleged ownership of the mine nor the precise cause of the deaths should be treated as settled.
The conflicting accounts have nevertheless added another major dimension to a tragedy that has already raised serious questions about illegal mining, detention conditions and accountability within security agencies.
