The corpse of a 30-year-old man, Yakubu Hassan, from Rafin-Sanyi community in Suleja, Niger State, was discovered in a mortuary approximately one week after his arrest during a security raid on an illegal mining site in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Arrest During Joint Security Operation
Yakubu was reportedly among 14 individuals arrested during a joint security operation at a gold mining site in Bamburu community, Gwagwalada Area Council. He had gone there alongside other artisanal miners to engage in mining activities.
Speaking with Daily Trust, the deceased’s elder brother, Abubakar Hassan, stated that Yakubu left home on the penultimate Tuesday with his friend, Danjuma Saminu, to participate in the mining activity. According to him, Yakubu was primarily a herder, while Danjuma sold pharmaceutical products, although both occasionally engaged in artisanal mining.
Family Loses Contact
“We lost contact with him about two days after he left home before we heard that a joint security team had raided the mining site and arrested about 14 miners,” Abubakar said. “After making inquiries, we were told they were taken to the Zuma Military Barracks along the Kaduna Road in Suleja before being handed over to personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Abuja.”
He said the family later learned that 13 of the arrested miners were released on bail after spending a day in military custody, while Yakubu’s whereabouts remained unknown. “We subsequently sought the assistance of an Abuja-based human rights activist, Comrade Nura Muktar, to help us locate him,” he added.
Blindfolded During Transport
Abubakar said the family’s concern deepened after some of the released miners told them they had all been blindfolded while being transported to the military barracks and were unable to account for Yakubu when the blindfolds were eventually removed. “That prompted us to visit several police divisions in search of him, but we found no trace until we eventually located his body at the mortuary of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Hospital in Sabon-Wuse about a week later,” he said.
He alleged that Yakubu’s body bore burn injuries on different parts as well as gunshot wounds to the abdomen and leg. “We cannot understand why he was allegedly tortured to death,” he said, adding that the deceased’s mobile phone and other personal belongings were missing.
Human Rights Activist Speaks
Also speaking, the human rights activist, Comrade Nura Muktar, said one of his colleagues visited the Zuma Military Barracks to make inquiries but was told there was no record of such an operation. “We made similar inquiries at the NSCDC headquarters and at a military barracks in Gwagwalada, but no information was available about his whereabouts until Friday, when we received information that his body had been deposited at Sabon-Wuse Hospital,” Muktar said.
According to him, hospital officials informed them that the body had been deposited more than a week earlier by a military officer reportedly attached to the Zuma Military Barracks. He added that the officer’s name and telephone number were recorded in the hospital’s documentation. Muktar said hospital officials contacted the officer, who allegedly authorized the release of the body to the family. He added that the remains were buried the same Friday after the police division in the area was notified.
