ABUJA – The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has initiated an investigation into the circumstances surrounding a stampede at its former zonal office in Yaba, Lagos, which resulted in casualties, the agency said on Sunday.
The Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, has formed a panel headed by a senior management member to probe the incident and identify the victims, according to a statement by the National Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Maiwada.
“The management of the Nigeria Customs Service expresses deep condolences to the families of the victims affected by the stampede,” Maiwada said in the statement.
He added that the agency had suspended the distribution exercise and was working to provide support to the affected families.
The stampede occurred during an initiative by the NCS to sell seized food items, including rice, at affordable prices to alleviate the hardship caused by rising food costs in the country.
Reports indicate that the distribution exercise, which began at 8 a.m., attracted hundreds of less privileged Nigerians, including the physically challenged, who were treated with compassion and received 25kg bags of rice for free.
Beneficiaries praised the initiative, which aimed to improve access to essential food items and ease the effects of inflation on ordinary citizens. However, the event turned tragic when a stampede broke out, leading to casualties.
The NCS had activated its Corporate Social Responsibility mechanism to support indigent Nigerians and had opened its warehouse in Lagos for the auction of seized food items. The initiative, supervised by CGS Adeniyi, was intended to benefit over 5,000 Nigerians before the unfortunate incident occurred.
Despite the fatalities and injuries, many beneficiaries expressed gratitude to the government for the initiative, hoping for more subsidized food items to be made available to ordinary Nigerians.
The incident has prompted an internal investigation by the NCS to understand the circumstances leading to the stampede, with the agency pledging to provide support to the affected families.
