Two siblings die in another Niger mine collapse
Months after a mine collapsed in Shiroro, Niger State, resulting in the death of scores of miners, another mine collapsed in the Paikoro, killing two siblings.
PUNCH learnt that the siblings, Zubairu Ibrahim, 20, and Sadiq Ibrahim, 25, were said to have died when the mine collapsed in Kakaki village in the Paikoro Local Government Area of the state.
The incident occurred on Saturday when the two brothers were said to have left their home without informing their parents of their mission to join others in the mine to dig for solid minerals.
A spokesperson for the ministry of Niger State Ministry of Mineral Resources, Dibie Maureen, who disclosed the incident to The PUNCH on Tuesday, stated that officials of the ministry paid a condolence and fact-finding visit to the bereaved family on Sunday.
According to Maureen, a village source told them that the family noticed the absence of the duo that evening when they failed to return for dinner and evening prayers. Their father, Zubairu Ibrahim, however, assumed that the young men were out with friends until he learnt that they had gone to the mining site to dig for gold.
She disclosed that their father, who sent community members to search for his sons, received the shock of his life when the people returned with their lifeless bodies.
On inquiry, he was informed that the bodies were found buried beneath the collapsed soil at the mine site.
The bereaved Ibrahim, who spoke with officials from the state Ministry, lamented how he could not cope with life after burying two sons in one day.
The Permanent Secretary, Yunusa Nahauni, led the officials on the visit, which included the ministry’s directors, the Miners Association, the State Chapter Caretaker Chairman, and the Nigeria Union of Mines Workers.
Nahauni was said to have lamented that the death would have been avoidable if the community had abided by the Governor’s order suspending mining in the state. He stressed that the directive suspending mining in the state was still in force, as the ministry would continue to crack down on illegal mining operations.
Nahauni warned that anyone found violating these regulations would face legal consequences. He expressed the government’s condolences and reiterated the need to determine the cause of the accident.
He also urged the community to inform the ministry whenever they discovered mineral elements in their vicinity so that they could receive proper guidance.
“We hereby give our condolences to the bereaved family. This death would have been avoidable if the community had abided by the Governor’s order suspending mining in the state. The ministry will continue to crack down on illegal mining operations.
“Anyone found violating these regulations would face legal consequences. There is the need to determine the cause of the accident. The community should inform the ministry whenever they discover any mineral elements in their vicinity so as to receive proper guidance,” he said.
Meanwhile, when the team attempted to visit the mine site to ascertain the level of damage, the villagers prevented them and were rooting to assault them, believing that the government team was in the village to extort money from them.
The villagers alleged that an initial team from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps had visited the village and extorted N25,000 from the parents of the deceased to fuel their vehicle.
The ministry’s spokesman said in his response that the district head of Tutungo Paiko Local Government Area, Musa Abdullahi, extended his gratitude to the team and acknowledged being informed about the incident by Mallam Ayuba Ahmadu, the village head of Butu Kakaki, a village in Paikoro Local Government.
Maureen also disclosed that the deceased had been buried before the ministry’s officials paid the condolence visit.
