Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has pledged to support the education of Yusuf Aliyu, the teenage artisanal miner whose comments about the deaths of suspected miners in Niger State have gone viral online.
Atiku said on Sunday that he was deeply concerned each time he watched the teenager speaking at a mining site following the deaths of 37 suspected miners in the state.
In a statement posted on his X handle, the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate said Aliyu’s intelligence and confidence should be nurtured in a classroom rather than at a mining site.
Atiku also appealed for the teenager’s safety, warning that his public comments should not expose him or his family to intimidation or retaliation.
He said any attempt to reach the boy should be handled through his family and appropriate child-protection channels.
Aliyu spoke to News Central Television in a video that has circulated widely online.
In the interview, the teenager alleged that personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) had shot at miners at a gold mining site in Niger State.
He also disputed the NSCDC’s initial explanation that the deaths of suspected illegal miners in its custody were linked to a disease outbreak.
The teenager said miners at the site included people under the age of 18 and claimed that many of them worked at the site because of poverty and the need to support their families.
He also rejected the description of the miners as illiterate or illegal miners.
The claims made by the teenager have not been independently established.
Atiku said the teenager’s account raised broader questions about poverty, education and the management of Nigeria’s mineral resources.
He questioned how communities with valuable mineral deposits could continue to experience poverty and limited access to opportunities.
The former vice president also criticised the Federal Government’s handling of artisanal mining and contrasted the current approach with the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative (PAGMI) established under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to Atiku, PAGMI was designed to register, train and integrate artisanal miners into the formal economy, with Niger State among the states covered by the initiative.
He argued that the framework should be examined in light of the current situation involving artisanal miners in Niger State.
Atiku called on the Federal Government to explain what became of PAGMI in Niger State and provide answers on the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the 37 suspected miners.
The deaths followed the arrest of suspected illegal miners during NSCDC operations in the M.I. Wushishi and Lukoto areas of Niger State on September 15 and 16.
The NSCDC initially attributed the deaths to a suspected disease outbreak.
However, survivors alleged that overcrowding, poor ventilation, heat and dehydration contributed to the deaths.
The actual cause of death has not yet been established.
The Federal Government has constituted a 10-member independent committee to investigate the incident, including the circumstances surrounding the arrests and detention and the cause of death.
The Niger State Government has also established a committee of inquiry, while the police are investigating the incident.
The investigations are expected to establish what happened to the detained miners and determine the circumstances that led to the deaths.
Atiku said the attention generated by Aliyu’s video should not put the teenager or his family at risk.
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He pledged to support the boy’s education and said the teenager’s potential should not be lost because of poverty.
The former vice president also framed the incident as part of broader concerns over child labour, poverty and access to education in communities where artisanal mining is widespread.
He concluded by calling for greater attention to the welfare and future of children living in mining communities.
The controversy surrounding the Niger State mining deaths remains under investigation, with federal and state authorities conducting separate inquiries. The findings of those investigations are expected to clarify the cause of death and the circumstances surrounding the miners’ arrests and detention.