BY AHMED AKANBI
The Northern Senators Forum, NSF, has demanded an immediate, transparent and independent investigation into the deaths of 37 young Nigerians allegedly in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State.
In a statement weekend, the Chairman of the Forum, Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’Adua, described the circumstances surrounding the deaths as deeply disturbing, noting that the victims were reportedly confined in a small room where they cried for help before choking to death.
The Forum said history has shown how horrifying confinement becomes when helpless people are stripped of dignity and treated as though their lives have no value.
”At Auschwitz and other Nazi killing centres during the Holocaust, countless helpless men, women and children were imprisoned under brutal conditions, with many deliberately suffocated in gas chambers. Auschwitz operated from 1940 to 1945 during World War II and became the most notorious killing centre of the Holocaust.
”The Minna tragedy is not being equated with the Holocaust, but it should awaken the same fundamental question that history demands we never stop asking: What happens when those entrusted with human lives cease to see the people in their custody as human beings deserving of protection?,” the statement said.
The senators demanded that Nigerians must be told who ordered the arrests, where the detainees were taken, who authorized their detention, whether the room was fit for human habitation, when distress calls were made, who heard them, what action was taken, and the precise circumstances in which each victim died.
They called for the investigation to involve the National Human Rights Commission, the Nigerian Bar Association, credible civil society organisations and independent forensic experts.
The Forum also demanded independent autopsies for all 37 victims, with family representatives and independent pathologists allowed to participate.
”If criminal negligence, unlawful detention, reckless conduct or any deliberate act contributed to these deaths, those responsible must be prosecuted, irrespective of their rank or position,” it said.
NSF said the tragedy must trigger a nationwide review of detention facilities operated by security agencies to ensure no Nigerian is ever placed in a situation “where a cry for help becomes a cry that nobody answers.”
The Forum extended condolences to the families of the deceased and the people of Niger State, praying Almighty Allah to forgive their shortcomings, grant them Al-Jannatul Firdaus and give their families fortitude to bear the loss.