Atiku donates N20m to families of Minna custody death victims

Politics

MINNA, Nigeria (NPA) — Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has donated N20 million to families affected by the deaths of 37 suspected artisanal miners who died in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State.

Atiku made the donation on Tuesday during a visit to Minna, where he met families and survivors of the incident amid public calls for accountability over the deaths.

He also paid a condolence visit to the Emir of Minna and Chairman of the Minna Emirate Council, Alhaji (Dr.) Umar Farouk Bahago, and visited former military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.

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According to a statement issued on Sept. 24 by Phrank Shaibu, Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, the former Vice President said Nigeria could not secure its future without investing deliberately in young people, expanding opportunities and enabling them to pursue legitimate and productive livelihoods.

Atiku described the deaths as a painful reminder of the vulnerability of young Nigerians struggling to survive amid severe economic pressures.

He said it was particularly distressing to hear firsthand the account of one of the survivors.

“It was a gory tale listening to one of the survivors. He told us that more than 68 of them were crammed into one small detention facility and that conditions became so desperate that they had to drink one another’s urine just to stay hydrated.

“No Nigerian should ever be subjected to such indignity in the custody of his own government. These were human beings in the care of the state. Whatever accusations may have been made against them, they were entitled to their lives, their dignity and the protection of the law.”

Atiku said the fact that many young Nigerians were being driven into hazardous and poorly regulated occupations should compel the government to confront the underlying challenges of poverty, unemployment and the rising cost of living.

“Thirty-seven young Nigerians entered the custody of the state alive and did not return alive to their families. That tragedy demands truth, justice and accountability.

“But beyond establishing what happened in that detention facility, we must also ask why so many of our young people are being pushed into dangerous and precarious livelihoods simply to survive.”

The former Vice President said the deaths should prompt the Tinubu administration to reflect on what he described as the human consequences of economic policies that had placed pressure on households and reduced opportunities for young Nigerians.

“When families can no longer afford the basics and young people are forced to take extraordinary risks just to earn a living, government cannot pretend that everything is working.

“Economic reform must ultimately be measured by what it does to the lives of ordinary people. If life becomes progressively more difficult for families, workers and young people, then government has a responsibility to reconsider the choices producing those outcomes.”

Atiku also reiterated his commitment to policies aimed at reducing the cost of living if elected president, including a targeted production subsidy for petroleum products refined in Nigeria rather than a return to an open-ended subsidy on imported fuel.

He said the proposed policy would support domestic refining, reduce waste and ensure that government intervention translated into lower prices for consumers.

“My promise to make life affordable again is not a political slogan. It is a solemn covenant with the Nigerian people.

“We will support what Nigeria produces. We will support fuel refined in Nigeria, create Nigerian jobs and insist that every naira of government support delivers a measurable benefit to the consumer.

“The purpose of government is not merely to announce reforms. The purpose of government is to make life better for the people.”

Atiku said Nigerian youths deserved classrooms, skills, jobs and opportunities that would enable them to fulfil their potential rather than an economy in which survival increasingly depended on dangerous and uncertain livelihoods.