BREAKING: TWO BROTHERS FEARED KILLED IN NIGER MINE COLLAPSE
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In Kakaki village, which is part of the Paikoro local government area of Niger State, a mine collapsed over the weekend, cruelly taking the lives of two brothers, Zubairu and Sadiq Ibrahim.
Three other mine disasters in the Shiroro and Paikoro areas in recent months preceded the incident.
The brothers, who are twenty and twenty-five years old, had not told their parents that they were going to the mine to extract solid minerals before they left the house.
It was only later that evening, at supper and evening prayers, that their absence became apparent.
Mallam Zubairu Ibrahim, their father, claims that the family first thought the young men were out socializing with friends.
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The brothers went to the mine site in the hopes of finding gold or other rich minerals, which the family discovered when they did not return.
Tragically, Zubairu stated, his sons’ remains were discovered buried beneath the crumbling earth by the riverbed after he dispatched members of the community to look for them.
During a visit to the village to gather information and offer condolences, Ibrahim, a state Ministry of Mineral Resources officer, bemoaned his ability to deal with life following the simultaneous burial of his two sons in a single day.
Under the direction of Permanent Secretary Alhaji Yunusa Mohammed Nahauni, the team from the Ministry of Mineral Resources included directors, the Caretaker Chairman of the Miners Association State Chapter, and the Nigeria Union of Mines Workers (NUMW).
The Permanent Secretary bemoaned the fact that the tragedy may have been prevented had the community followed the governor’s order to cease mining in the state. She emphasized that the order remains in effect and that the ministry will keep up its enforcement of illicit mining operations. He issued a warning that there would be legal repercussions for anyone found in violation of these rules.
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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