Four suspected illegal miners have died following the collapse of a sand excavation pit at Tangur community in Bokkos LGA of Plateau state.
Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication, reported
that the incident occurred at about 2:20pm on Tuesday.
The publication said troops responded to reports of a sand
collapse involving suspected illegal miners along a river line in the
community.
“The troops visited the scene and confirmed that four victims had died as a result of the collapse,” Makama said.
“The deceased were identified as Mallam Fahad Aliyu and
three other women whose identities were not immediately established.
“The bodies were recovered by their relatives for burial
rites.
“During preliminary inquiries, troops engaged the community
leader over the incident.
“The community leader reportedly told the troops that he was
not aware of the illegal mining activities taking place in the area.”
Makama said further investigation is ongoing to establish
the circumstances surrounding the incident and the extent of illegal mining
activities at the location.
The incident comes about a week after 37 suspected illegal
miners, arrested in M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto villages in Niger state, died in
the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The suspects were arrested during operations conducted on September 15 and 16.
One of the surviving detainees among the miners alleged that
65 people were crammed into one cell before operatives sprayed a substance
inside and locked the door.
The federal government deployed a “high-powered” team in
Niger state to investigate the deaths.
NSCDC arrested 24 personnel, including Suberu Aniviye, the
suspended Niger state commandant, over the incident.
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