The Movement for a Socialist Alternative has called for the arrest and prosecution of individuals allegedly profiting from illegal mining following the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps detention facility in Minna, Niger State.
The group also demanded the nationalisation of the country’s mines and their placement under public ownership and democratic control.
In a statement signed by its General Secretary, Aj. Dagga Tolar, obtained on Wednesday, the MSA said the government’s decision to arrest the NSCDC officers involved in the incident and establish a probe panel was insufficient.
The group said, “We in the Movement for a Socialist Alternative (MSA) are, however, not sucked in by this public display of empathy by the government; it is sheer play to the gallery, when in reality it is the government, both past and present, that should be held accountable for this largely preventable and unwarranted tragedy, not even at the equally dangerous mining site but in detention in a government facility.”
The MSA said several northern states had mineral resources including gold, tin, uranium and iron ore, but questioned why the resources had not been brought under state control for the benefit of Nigerians.
It said, “Why is it that the necessary legislation has not been put in place to bring these assets under state control, so that the whole country can benefit from this wealth and resources? Why reserve them for a few Bigwigs to keep lining their pockets?”
The group also questioned why mining workers were arrested while those allegedly profiting from illegal mining activities remained free.
“Who are these bigwigs who employ these youths who are desperately in need of means of survival, condemning themselves to work in the appalling and unwholesome working conditions in the mines? Are they untouchable? Why arrest the workers, and not the bigwigs?” it asked.
The MSA further criticised the conditions in which detainees are held in government facilities, arguing that the government should be held responsible for failing to provide adequate funding, training and facilities for security personnel.
The group said President Bola Tinubu’s statement that “these individuals were suspected of illegal mining does not remove their right to life, dignity and humane treatment” was insufficient in addressing the broader conditions faced by arrested persons.
It also called for reforms in the country’s detention system, saying, “We must ask what reforms the government implemented since the #EndSARS protest: practically nothing.”
The MSA demanded that mining sites be placed under public ownership with adequate facilities, welfare, working standards and wages.
It also called for the arrest and prosecution of government officials whose alleged negligence contributed to the deaths, compensation for the 37 victims and those arrested, and the release of people allegedly detained without being charged.
The group further demanded the right to unionisation for rank-and-file police and military personnel and questioned the need for paramilitary organisations where police could perform similar functions.
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