…Says accounts emerging from survivors are deeply distressing
Engr. (Dr.) Yakubu Mohammed Kingsley (YMK), Presidential Aspirant of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), has expressed deep sorrow over the death of 37 suspected artisanal miners who reportedly died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State.
Kingsley, in a statement made available on Tuesday in Abuja, said the accounts emerging from survivors are deeply distressing.
“There are moments when a nation must pause, put politics aside and simply mourn. The deaths in Minna are one of such moments.
“Our hearts go out to the families who went to bed expecting their sons, brothers, husbands, fathers and loved ones to return, only to be confronted with the unbearable reality of death.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the Government and people of Niger State and, indeed, to all Nigerians who are increasingly waking up to one tragic report after another of lives lost across the country.
“What makes this particular tragedy even more painful is that these Nigerians reportedly died while in the custody of an institution established to protect lives, property and assist in maintaining law and order.
“Whatever the circumstances that led to their detention, they remained human beings whose lives deserved protection, dignity and humane treatment.
Kingsley, a PRP presidential aspirant currently challenging the May 25 party’s presidential primary poll, said no Nigerian should lose his life seeking a means of survival.
The proponent of YMK Nigeria Project, therefore, said reports that detainees were packed into an overcrowded cell, struggled to breathe and repeatedly called for help before lives were lost demand a thorough, transparent and impartial investigation.
“Nigerians would deserve to know the outcome of the investigation.
“Beyond the immediate tragedy, Nigerians must ask a more difficult question which is; what is driving our young people, including children, into dangerous artisanal mining in the first place?
“The answer cannot be separated from the hardship being experienced by millions of Nigerians across the country where people are increasingly turning to whatever economic opportunities available to them.
“In communities endowed with gold, tin, lithium, lead, zinc, coal and other valuable minerals, artisanal mining has become a means of survival for the people in those areas who often have limited access to formal employment, education, finance and sustainable livelihoods.”
He, however, said that this does not justify illegal mining, environmental destruction or criminal exploitation of Nigeria’s mineral resources.
Kingsley, who is currently awaiting the Federal High Court November 2, 2026 judgment on the party’s presidential primary election dispute, said the law must deal firmly with criminal networks and activities that endanger communities and deprive the nation of its wealth.
“However enforcement alone cannot address a problem whose roots also lie in poverty, unemployment and the absence of viable alternatives.
“It is against this background that the Minna tragedy must be viewed not only as a painful human loss, but also as a warning about the deeper failures surrounding the management of Nigeria’s natural resources and the economic conditions of the host communities.
“When citizens are driven into hazardous artisanal mining in search of survival, and when communities endowed with valuable resources remain vulnerable to poverty, environmental degradation and insecurity, the nation must look beyond enforcement and ask how its natural wealth is being governed, who benefits from it, and what protections exist for the people within the catchment areas.
“This is precisely why the YMK Nigeria Project has developed a policy framework that places natural-resource development within the broader principles of inclusive governance, community participation, economic opportunity and human dignity.
“In our earlier policy statement, ‘YMK: Nigeria Deserves an Inclusive Government That Represents All Interests,’ we made it clear that communities where Hydrocarbon and solid minerals are extracted must not remain spectators but should be legitimate participants in one way or the other in the exploration and exploitation of the mineral resources.
“Under the YMK framework, resource-producing communities will be recognised as genuine stakeholders, with clearly defined and measurable obligations covering community development, employment and skills opportunities, infrastructure, environmental protection, transparent benefits and effective grievance mechanisms.
“Where artisanal and small-scale mining can responsibly be formalised, miners should have access to appropriate regulation, training, safer working conditions, technology, finance and legitimate markets, while criminal exploitation and activities that endanger communities must be addressed.
“The objective is not to extract minerals, but to build an accountable resource economy that protects lives, empowers communities and creates sustainable opportunities.”
According to him, we are particularly disturbed by reports that some of those who died were teenagers.
He said that Illegal mining is a national development crisis.
“If children are leaving classrooms and entering dangerous mining sites because their families can no longer survive without their contribution, then the problem is much bigger than illegal mining.
“It is a national development crisis. A country cannot secure its future by allowing its children to exchange classrooms for mining pits and responding only after tragedy occurs.
“This is why the YMK policy framework connects natural-resource governance with education, employment, community development, environmental protection and national security.
“Nigeria must move beyond the extraction and export of raw materials towards processing, manufacturing and technology-driven industries that create jobs and lasting value within the country.
“We have developed this programme for practical implementation when elected as President under PRP in 2027.
“The Minna tragedy should consequently compel the nation to look beyond the immediate headlines.
“We must confront the interconnected realities of hardship, unemployment, hazardous livelihoods, environmental degradation and the need to protect human dignity,” he said.
He said the 37 Nigerians who died in Minna should not be allowed to be another statistic in a country already overwhelmed by too many stories of death.
He, therefore, called for a quick and transparent investigation.
“They were our children, brothers, husbands, fathers, friends and hopes for tomorrow.
*We mourn them. We console their families. We stand with the people and Government of Niger State in this moment of grief.
“We extend our sympathy to Nigerians across the country who continue to wake up to painful reports of lives lost through circumstances that often expose deeper failures in our social and economic systems.
“The Nigeria we envision must be a country where citizens do not have to risk their lives simply to feed their families; where children are protected and kept in school; where communities are not forgotten after their resources are discovered; where security agencies protect human life even while enforcing the law; and where Nigeria’s natural wealth becomes a source of shared prosperity rather than desperation, exploitation and grief.
“May Almighty God grant eternal rest to those who lost their lives, give their families the strength to bear this painful loss, grant speedy recovery to the survivors, and guide Nigeria towards a future in which the dignity and value of every human life are truly protected.”