Tuesday, August 2o, 2024 - Two brothers, identified as Zubairu Ibrahim and Sadiq Ibrahim, tragically lost their lives when a mine collapsed in Kakaki village, located in the Paikoro local government area of Niger State.
The incident which occurred over the
weekend followed three previous mine collapses in the Shiroro and Paikoro areas
in recent months.
The brothers, aged 20 and 25, had
left home without informing their parents that they were heading to the mine to
dig for solid minerals.
Their absence was only noticed later
that evening when they failed to return for dinner and evening prayers
According to their father, Mallam Zubairu
Ibrahim, the family initially assumed the young men were out with friends.
However, when they did not return, the
family learned that the brothers had gone to the mine site, hoping to find gold
or other valuable minerals.
Zubairu said he sent community
members to search for his sons, and tragically, their bodies were found buried
beneath the collapsed soil at the riverbank.
Speaking with officials from the state
Ministry of Mineral Resources who paid a condolence and fact-finding visit to
the village, Ibrahim lamented how he could cope with life after burying two
sons in one day.
The
team from the Ministry of Mineral Resources was led by the Permanent Secretary,
Alhaji Yunusa Mohammed Nahauni and included directors, the Miners Association
State Chapter Caretaker Chairman, and the Nigeria Union of Mines Workers (NUMW).
The Permanent Secretary lamented that
the death was avoidable if the community had abided with the Governor’s order
suspending mining in the state stressing that the directive suspending mining
in the state is still in force as the ministry will continue to crack down on
illegal mining operations. He warned that anyone found violating these
regulations would face legal consequences
Nahauni who expressed the
government’s condolences reiterated the need to determine the cause of the
accident urging the community to inform the ministry whenever they discover any
mineral elements in their vicinity to receive proper guidance.
When the team wanted to visit the
mine site to ascertain and assess the level of damage, they were prevented by
the villagers who were ready to beat them up as they thought the government
team was in the village to extort money from them.
The villagers, the majority of whom
were youths noted that an initial team from the Nigeria Security and Civil
Defence Corps (NSCDC) had visited the village and allegedly extorted N25,000
from the parents of the deceased to fuel their vehicle.
It was learnt that this act has been
causing issues for other authorities as the villagers believe that everyone who
comes is out to extort money from them.
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