Usman Muhammad still struggles to put into words what happened inside a small prison cell in Minna, Nigeria, where he says he watched dozens of fellow detainees die in unbearable heat.
Standing at the entrance of the cramped cell, Muhammad rested his forehead against the wall and paused, unable to speak as he remembered the ordeal.
Just a day earlier, he had been locked inside the roughly 6m by 3m room with more than 50 other prisoners.
Thirty-three of his cellmates died inside the facility in Minna, the capital of Niger State, while four others reportedly died later in hospital.
The deaths triggered public anger and protests, with some demonstrators attacking public buildings as relatives and residents demanded answers.
Federal officials initially attributed the deaths to a diphtheria outbreak. However, the circumstances surrounding what happened are now the subject of an official investigation.
“I have never felt heat like that in my life. When we touched each other’s bodies, it felt like fire burning,” Muhammad told the BBC after gathering his thoughts.
He said there was barely enough space to stand inside the cell, while humidity levels were above 90%. Such conditions can make it difficult for the body to cool itself because sweat does not evaporate normally.
Temperatures outside were above 25C, while ventilation inside the cell was limited to a small window positioned high on the wall.
Muhammad recalled that one detainee collapsed and the prisoners began banging on the door, asking guards for water.
“One of us fainted and we started knocking at the [cell] door. When [a guard] came we asked him for water. He looked at the guy that fainted and closed the door. That’s how they started dying one after the other,” he said.
Muhammad, who is in his 20s, is an artisanal miner. Like the other detainees, he had been arrested while working at mining sites near Minna.
The federal government has been intensifying efforts to clamp down on what it describes as illegal mining, citing lost revenue, environmental damage and links to wider criminal activity.
Officers from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) arrested a large group of miners near Minna on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The detainees were taken to an NSCDC detention centre in the city. The organisation has not disclosed the names or exact number of people being held there.
As the hours passed, Muhammad said the conditions inside the cell became increasingly unbearable.
He alleged that some detainees resorted to drinking their own urine and collecting sweat from their bodies in desperate attempts to survive.
He also recalled seeing people struggling to breathe and repeatedly calling for assistance.
“People were calling for help, some were already very weak,” he said.
Another survivor, Adamu Isah, separately told Reuters that detainees repeatedly alerted security officers that people were dying.
“While in the cell, we were shouting and telling them that people were dying,” Isah said.
He said the prisoners eventually tried to force the door open after their calls for help went unanswered.
“We tried to break down the door when they refused to open it,” he said. “At one point, a security officer came to the door.”
According to Isah, the detainees told the officer that people were dying, but he allegedly responded that it was not his concern if people died.
The cell door was eventually opened on Thursday, when guards discovered the bodies inside.
The NSCDC has not directly responded to the allegations of neglect and maltreatment. However, it has confirmed that 24 of its personnel have been taken into custody in connection with the deaths.
Among those detained is Suberu Aniviye, the suspended NSCDC commandant for Niger State.
Niger State Governor Umaru Bago told the BBC that the deaths must be fully investigated.
“The people who were killed are not flies. How can this go unlooked? We will get to the bottom of this,” he said.
Because the NSCDC is a federal agency rather than a force under the governor’s direct authority, Bago cannot exercise direct control over the organisation. He has, however, welcomed the investigation ordered by the federal government in Abuja.
A 10-member committee has been established to determine what caused the deaths and establish responsibility.
The committee has two weeks to complete its work and can recommend legal action against anyone found culpable.
Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has also warned that no officer, regardless of rank, will be shielded if found responsible.
He said any attempt to obstruct the investigation would be taken seriously.
For Muhammad, the hope is that speaking publicly about what he witnessed will help ensure that those responsible are held accountable and that the victims’ families can find some measure of justice and closure.
