EXCLUSIVE: 17-Year-Old Girl Returns To Niger Mining Site Days After 37 Miners Die In Custody, Says ‘I’m Not Afraid To Die’
EXCLUSIVE: 17-Year-Old Girl Returns To Niger Mining Site Days After 37 Miners Die In Custody, Says Poverty Leaves Her No Choice
A 17-year-old girl identified as Zainab has returned to a mining site in Niger State just days after 37 suspected illegal miners died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), saying poverty and hunger have left her with little choice but to continue mining.
Zainab was found at the mining site alongside two of her teenage sisters, despite the recent deaths that have raised concerns about the safety and conditions surrounding mining activities and the detention of suspected illegal miners in the state.
Speaking about her decision to return, the teenager said mining was her main source of livelihood and helped her provide food and basic needs for herself and her aged parents.
She explained that the fear of arrest or even death could not keep her away from the mining site because she had no alternative means of earning money.
According to Zainab, security agents were still carrying out operations against miners in the area. She said police officers arrived shortly before her interaction with Street News Reporters, forcing her and other miners to run into hiding.
Zainab said the recent deaths had not changed the difficult reality facing her family, stressing that hunger remained a major concern.
She explained that she and her sisters returned to the site almost immediately after hearing about the deaths of the 37 miners.
The teenager said she was fully aware of the dangers associated with mining, including the possibility of arrest or death, but maintained that poverty had pushed her and others into the activity.
She said many of the miners who died also had families and were only trying to earn money to survive, adding that those still at the site were facing the same struggle.
Zainab also explained why she continued to work at the site despite the danger, saying she could not remain at home and watch her aged parents go hungry.
She said her two teenage sisters had accompanied her because the family had nobody providing financial support and they had to find a way to survive together.
The teenager appealed to the authorities to provide alternative employment opportunities for young people and residents who depend on mining for their livelihood. She said she and others would be willing to take up other jobs if such opportunities were made available.
Zainab’s return to the mining site comes days after 37 suspected illegal miners died following their arrest during NSCDC operations in Niger State. The arrests reportedly occurred around mining communities in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of the state.
The deaths have generated public concern, particularly amid reports that some of those arrested were teenagers. Authorities have launched investigations into the circumstances surrounding the deaths, while the Federal Government suspended the NSCDC commandant in Niger State and constituted an investigative committee.
The incident has also drawn attention to the wider challenges surrounding illegal and artisanal mining in communities where residents depend on the activity for survival.
For Zainab, however, the choice remains between facing the dangers of the mining site and returning home without any means of feeding herself and her parents.
She said she does not want to die but cannot simply watch her family suffer from hunger.
Zainab called on the authorities to provide alternative ways for young people like her to earn a living, stressing that miners are not necessarily seeking danger but are trying to survive.
She said, “We are ready to work. We are young. We can work. But where is the work?”
The teenager’s story highlights the difficult economic circumstances facing some residents who continue to depend on mining despite the risks, while government agencies intensify efforts to curb illegal mining activities across the state.
