Survivors of a Nigerian detention centre where 37 people died say guards sprayed an unidentified substance into an overcrowded cell and kept the doors locked while detainees struggled to breathe and cried for help.
The deaths in Minna, the capital of Niger State, have triggered protests and prompted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to order an investigation. Several senior officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.
The detainees, many of them teenagers and young men working in artisanal gold mines, had been arrested during raids on suspected illegal mining operations.
Survivor Adamu Isah, 22, said around 17 detainees were initially placed in a cell measuring about five square metres on 17 September, before nearly 50 others were brought in.
After the detainees complained about overcrowding, Isah said officers sprayed an unidentified substance under the door.
“At first, we thought they were trying to put some scent into the room because there were so many people inside,” he said.
Around an hour later, Isah said, detainees began behaving erratically, losing consciousness and dying.
Another survivor, Dauda Shehu, described a substance that “smelled like a perfume”.
“Hours later we started feeling throats itching, then we started struggling to breathe. People started dying,” he said.
A third survivor gave a similar account to Nigerian television, saying detainees repeatedly complained about the cramped conditions before something smelling like “pepper” was sprayed inside.
The NSCDC initially said a disease outbreak may have caused the deaths, but later said the cause remained unknown and would be investigated.
Many of the victims were buried shortly afterwards in accordance with Islamic tradition, while six bodies remained at Niger State General Hospital.
Protests over the deaths led to clashes on Friday in which one person was killed, prompting authorities to impose a 24-hour curfew.
Saudi Arabia’s air defences have intercepted and destroyed a hostile drone over the Riyadh region, according to the Saudi-led coalition fight...
Police were deployed across Paris on Saturday, as a curfew was set to take effect in the Republique and Chât...
A drone strike hit a power station in northern Sudan early Sunday (1 November), sparking a fire and triggering loud explosions, witnesses said....
The U.S. has approved the sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine in a deal worth an estimated $2.1 billion, but Kyiv could face years of delays before receiving the weapons it urgently needs to defend against intensifying Russian attacks.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has ordered Iran's armed forces to respond to any threat immediately and without geographical limits in statements posted to social media platforms on Saturday (31 October).
Demonstrators carrying Iranian flags and placards supporting the hijab gathered outside the Azerbaijani Embassy in London.
A hacking group linked to North Korea is widely believed to be behind the theft of $6.3 billion from cryptocurrency giant Binance, a cyberattack that experts describe as the largest cryptocurrency heist on record.
A tenth-grade student was critically injured after a man attacked her with a chainsaw inside a classroom in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district. The girl suffered severe injuries to her head, neck and back, while a classmate who tried to protect her was also hurt.
Police were deployed across Paris on Saturday, as a curfew was set to take effect in the Republique and Châtelet-Les Halles areas from 11pm Saturday until 6am Sunday (1 November).
A drone strike hit a power station in northern Sudan early Sunday (1 November), sparking a fire and triggering loud explosions, witnesses said.
Gen Z protests swept 34 German cities on Saturday (31 October) over education and living costs. Violence erupted in Frankfurt, where shops were looted and police reported Molotov cocktail attacks.
Iran designated Britain's Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as terrorist organisations on Sunday, (1 November), and classified the country's foreign intelligence agency, MI6, as a hostile group, according to a statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
Thousands protested in Albania's capital, Tirana, on Saturday (31 October), demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama's resignation over perceived corruption allegations and dissatisfaction with the government over a lack of jobs and poor education standards.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment