'I have never felt heat like that' – a survivor on watching 33 cellmates die in Nigeria

ByMadina Maishanu BBC Africa, Reporting fromMinna.

Key points

• The day before he had been trapped inside the stifling room, measuring roughly 6m (19.7ft) by 3m (9.8ft), with more than 50 other prisoners.
• Officers from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) had arrested a sizeable group of miners near Minna last Tuesday and Wednesday.
• No officer, regardless of rank, would be protected and any attempt to obstruct the investigation would be taken seriously, Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo remarked.
• Thirty-three of his cellmates died in the cramped conditions in the prison in Minna, the capital of Nigeria's Niger state – and four died afterwards in hospital.
• "While in the cell, we were shouting and telling them that people were dying, " another survivor Adamu Isah informed the Reuters news agency.

Usman Muhammad pauses by the entrance to a tiny Nigerian prison cell and leans his forehead against the wall unable to speak.

Notably, the day before he had been trapped inside the stifling room, measuring roughly 6m (19.7ft) by 3m (9.8ft), with more than 50 other prisoners.

As relatives and locals demanded answers, the mass deaths caused an outcry and sparked protests, including attacks on public buildings.

Federal authorities had initially blamed the deaths on a diphtheria outbreak but exactly what happened is now the subject of an investigation.

"I have never felt heat like that in my life. When we touched each other's bodies, it felt like fire burning, " Muhammad tells the BBC once he is able to gather his thoughts.

When he was locked inside, there was standing room only against the backdrop of humidity levels of more than 90%. It in some circumstances can be dangerous to human health as it prevents the natural cooling mechanism of sweat drying on the skin.

In practice, the temperature outside was above 25C and the only ventilation came from a small, high-up window.

"One of us fainted and we began knocking at the door. When came we asked him for water. He looked at the guy that fainted and closed the door. That's how they began dying one after the other, " Muhammad states.

Like the others who had been detained, the young man, in his 20s, is an artisanal miner, eking out a living searching for precious metals at mine sites.

Notably, the federal administration has tried to crack down on this alleged illegal activity as it states it costs the country revenue, damages the environment and can be linked to wider criminal activity.

In practice, the prisoners were held at its detention centre in the city, but the NSCDC has not shared either the names or the number of those it was holding.

As the hours inside the cell wore on, the heat and dehydration became unbearable and Muhammad notes some of the detainees began drinking their own urine and collecting sweat from their bodies to try to stay alive. He describes seeing individuals in distress and struggling to breathe. "People were calling for help, some were already very weak." But no-one came to support, he and others allege.

We tried to break down the door when they refused to open it. At one point, a security officer came to the door.

"We were shouting and telling him that people were dying, but he said it wasn't his problem if people died."

Finally, on Thursday, the cell door was opened and the guards saw the dead bodies.

For context, the NSCDC has not directly responded to the accusations of neglect and maltreatment but has remarked that 24 of its personnel are now in custody in connection with the deaths, including its suspended Niger state commandant Suberu Aniviye.

"The individuals who were killed are not flies. How can this go unlooked? We will obtain to the bottom of this, " Niger state Governor Umaru Bago informed the BBC.

As the organisation involved is a federal body rather than a force under his jurisdiction, such as the police, the governor is unable to exert direct influence but he welcomes the investigation that has been ordered by the administration in capital, Abuja.

In practice, a 10-member committee has now been set-up to determine exactly what happened.

It has two weeks to establish the causes of the deaths and identify who was responsible and can recommend legal action against anyone discovered culpable.

As he leaves the cell after talking to the BBC, Muhammad notes he hopes that by speaking out he can assist find justice and bring some closure to this traumatic event. More stories from Nigeria.

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'If you began running, they shot you' – inside Nigeria's growing kidnapping crisis.

Go to BBCAfrica.com, external for more news from the African continent.

For now, ' I have never felt heat like that' – a survivor on watching remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.