An investigative panel in Nigeria has concluded that 37 miners held in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) died of acute respiratory failure, Channels Television reports. According to the outlet, the panel found that heat and overcrowding made the condition worse.
The panel's findings were also reported by Punch Newspapers, Premium Times Nigeria and TheCable, which described the deaths as suffocation. The reports did not specify where in Niger State the deaths occurred or when the miners were taken into custody.
TheCable reports that the panel recommended N1.4 billion in compensation for the families of the miners who died. The reports did not give further details of how the compensation would be paid or who would be responsible for it.
The incident has drawn national attention in Nigeria, where artisanal mining is widespread and security agencies are frequently involved in operations against illegal mining. The panel's conclusions place responsibility for the deaths on the conditions in which the miners were held rather than on a single cause, according to the outlets' accounts of the report.
Watch for the Nigerian government's response to the panel's recommendations, including whether it accepts the compensation proposal and what action, if any, it takes against NSCDC personnel over the deaths.
