Eleven Nigerian miners recently rescued from the Central African Republic (CAR) have shared harrowing accounts of their ordeal and are appealing to the Federal Government to help them recover nine months’ worth of unpaid wages.
Speaking on behalf of the group in Abuja on Thursday, Mr. Freeborn Igorigo expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for the government’s swift intervention and the dignified reception accorded them on their return.
The miners were reportedly lured to CAR by a Nigerian agent in partnership with a Chinese national. In a viral video released earlier this year, they appeared visibly frail and distressed, claiming they had been abandoned without pay for 11 months while working at a mining site.
Igorigo said they endured life-threatening conditions in the CAR forest, including threats from armed soldiers, physical assaults, unjust imprisonment, and exposure to hazardous working environments. “Some of us are now battling medical issues caused by dangerous substances and accidents in the forest,” he stated.
He revealed that Chinese workers at the site were evacuated while the Nigerian miners were left behind in dangerous and isolated conditions. Attempts to join the departing workers, he said, were met with armed threats and violence.
According to Igorigo, their rescue was made possible through the coordinated efforts of Nigeria’s Ambassador to CAR, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
Despite their safe return, he lamented that they had come home empty-handed. “We are pleading with the authorities — the DSS, the Ministry of Mines, and the Federal Government — to help us recover the wages we worked for,” he appealed, warning that letting such companies evade responsibility could encourage further exploitation of Nigerians abroad.
Following their public plea, Nigerian officials located the miners and accompanied them on a multi-day journey from their remote location to Bangui, the CAR capital.
They arrived in Abuja at 4:45 p.m. on Thursday aboard an Asky Airlines Boeing 747-200 (registration number ET-AXO), accompanied by Nigeria’s Ambassador to CAR, Mr Babagana Ahmed. They were received by a Federal Government delegation led by NEMA’s Director of Search and Rescue, Air Commodore Kenneth Oyong, who represented NEMA Director-General Mrs Zubaida Umar.
