The Nigeria Customs Service has temporarily ceased the direct distribution of confiscated edible items, an initiative aimed at alleviating economic difficulties for Nigerians.
This suspension is in response to a devastating stampede that occurred at the NCS Old Zonal Headquarters in Yaba, Lagos, on Friday, 23 February 2024, during the first day of distribution, according to a statement by Abdullahi Maiwada, the Chief Superintendent of Customs and National Public Relations Officer for the Comptroller General.
TheWitness recently reported that the Federal Government had instructed the Nigeria Customs Service to distribute seized food items to help ease widespread hardship. Accordingly, ten distribution centers were set up to enable Nigerians to redeem food items using their National Identification Number (NIN), starting with the Yaba distribution point last Friday.
According to Maiwada, the distribution process on that Friday at the NCS Old Zonal Headquarters in Yaba initially proceeded without incident from 8 AM to 5 PM. The situation took a tragic turn when the food supply ran out, and the crowd, upon hearing that the distribution would resume the next day, desperately pushed towards the barricades in search of rice bags, resulting in a deadly stampede with numerous casualties and injuries.
