Babangida denied ownership of the mining site which led to 37 miners dying in NSCDC custody

Former military president General Ibrahim Babangida (Rtd.) denies ownership of the gold mining site where 37 miners who later died in NSCDC custody were arrested.

The rejection was a reaction to reports alleging that the site belonged to him.

A statement signed on Saturday by Dr. David Adeniran of his media office said, “Ibrahim Babangida does not own, lease or own any mineral rights, property or land related to mining operations anywhere in Niger State or in the entirety of Nigeria.”

It said that Babangida never acquired or attempted to acquire or operate any land for mining purposes in his lifetime, adding that any claim to the contrary is an outright lie.

The statement added, “No orders or authorizations were issued: The malicious claims of a self-proclaimed survivor that General Babangida instructed workers to ignore local directives and continue mining operations are completely baseless. Having lived peacefully and lawfully as a statesman in Minna since his retirement in 1993, General Babangida has never had any connection whatsoever with these informal or illegal mining activities.”

“Babangida condemned the tragic and unfortunate deaths of 37 persons while in the custody of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) and expressed his condolences to the affected families and the people of Niger State”.

IBB said he fully cooperated and fully supported the transparent and independent investigation and forensic examination committee initiated by the Niger State government and the Federal Ministry of Interior to determine the true causes of this detention tragedy.

He urged the youths and residents of Niger State to remain calm, peaceful and law-abiding while allowing the investigative agencies to complete their work.