No fewer than seven people were reportedly killed in a stampede amid a rush for subsidised rice in Lagos yesterday.
The stampede allegedly occurred on Friday, during the struggle by a crowd during the distribution of seized bags of rice by the Nigeria Customs Service at its office in Yaba.
According to a shared WhatsApp message, the seven died while trying to buy the seized rice being put up for sale by the Nigerua Customs Service, (NCS), at subsidised prices.
Recall that on Thursday, the NCS said it has begun distributing seized food items to hungry citizens to help mitigate the current hardships. However, the agency said persons with a verifiable National Identification Number, (NIN).
The NCS Comptroller-General of customs, Wale Adeniyi, at the flag-off of the rice distribution in Lagos on Thursday, said, “Our target includes artisans, teachers, religious organisations and other Nigerians within the area of customs operations, including the border areas.
“The intention of this distribution is to reach out directly to members of organisations that have structures to ensure the maximum impact of the exercise. “The effort of the distribution is to ensure robust security protocol throughout the process as officers will closely monitor the entire supply chain to prevent any misuse or possible diversion of food items”.
