Eleven Nigerian stranded miners in the Central African Republic (CAR) have expressed gratitude to the federal government for its swift intervention in their rescue.
Speaking on behalf of the returnees on Thursday in Abuja, Mr Freeborn Igorigo expressed.gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for their timely rescue, warm and dignified reception given to them.
The miners, who were allegedly lured to CAR by a Nigerian agent in collaboration with a Chinese national, had earlier made a public appeal for help through a viral video.
In the footage, the victims, visibly weak, distressed claimed they had been abandoned without pay for 11 months after being hired for mining work.
Sharing details of their months-long ordeal in the CAR forest, Igorigo said they endured life-threatening conditions, including threats from armed soldiers, physical assaults, imprisonment without cause, and prolonged deprivation.
“Some of us have medical conditions from hazardous exposure and accidents in the forest. We were threatened and beaten by soldiers and also imprisoned for nothing,” he said.
Igorigo, said he had worked for the company for three years and had been in CAR since September 2024.
He revealed that he was the individual who recorded and shared the video that alerted the public to their dire situation.
Describing the circumstances leading to his viral video, Igorigo said Chinese workers were evacuated from the site while Nigerian were left behind in dangerous, isolated conditions.
“When we attempted to join the departing workers, we were met with armed threats and violence,” he said.
He expressed gratitude to the media, the public, and everyone who raised awareness of their plight.
According to him, the rescue was achieved through the coordinated efforts of Nigeria’s ambassador to Central Africa, the office of the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
However, Igorigo lamented that after a year away from home, they were returning to their families empty-handed as their employers have withheld their salaries for nine months.
He said while the company occasionally provided small amounts as “3D money” to placate workers, promises of full payment had turned out to be false.
Igorigo stressed that, now safe in Nigeria, their rescue is only “the first step” and urged the government not to relent until justice is served and all their outstanding wages are paid
“We are pleading with the authorities, the DSS, the Ministry of Mines, and the federal government to help us recover what we laboured for.
“If such companies get away with this, it can encourage more exploitation of Nigerians abroad,” he said.
Recall that following the viral video of the miners, there was a swift response from the Nigerian Embassy in CAR, in collaboration with the security forces.
The officials successfully located the miners and accompanied them on a multi-day journey from their remote location to the CAR capital city.
The returnees were on Thursday accompanied to Abuja by the Nigerian Ambassador to the CAR, Mr Babagana Ahmed.
The Asky Airlines Boeing 747-200 aircraft, with registration number ET-AXO, conveying the returnees touched down in Abuja at exactly 4:45 pm
They were received on arrival in Abuja, by a Federal Government delegation led by the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mrs Zubaida Umar.
Umar was represented at the y the Director of Search and Rescue, Air Commodore Kenneth Oyong.
