00:00Following the deaths in prison of 33 young miners arrested on suspicion of illegal gold mining in central Nigeria,
00:07investigators say poor jail conditions are to blame.
00:11The men died in September after being held in an overcrowded cell in Mina, Niger state,
00:16following their arrest by a paramilitary government agency.
00:20Investigators say the tragedy could have been avoided.
00:22The committee concluded that the incident was a preventable custodial tragedy caused by severe overcrowding,
00:33unlawful and unsuitable detention conditions, failure of duty of care, disregard of repeated distress warnings,
00:44inadequate supervision and wider systemic deficiencies.
00:49Survivors described a suffocating overcrowded cell saying an irritating substance was sprayed inside.
00:55Their screams and desperate banging on the door went unanswered by guards.
01:01The committee concluded that these circumstances amounted to cruel, a human and degrading treatment
01:08and created an environment in which fatalities became foreseeable and preventable.
01:16Nigeria's prisons are notorious for severe overcrowding and crumbling infrastructure.
01:23Some facilities date back to British colonial rule.
