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Stampede, deaths: Customs suspends sales of seized edibles

Published

1 year ago

February 27, 2024

Stampede, deaths: Customs suspends sales of seized edibles

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has suspended its food disposal initiative following a stampede that claimed seven lives on Feb. 23. The unfortunate incident was during the distribution of 25Kg bags of rice at its Zonal Headquarters, Yaba, Lagos State

The service announced the suspension in a statement by its National Public Relations Officer, Mr Abdullahi Maiwada, on Monday. Maiwada said that the suspension was part of the service’s resolve to ensure the safety of Nigerians and to enable it to properly articulate its next line of action, in order not to defeat the vision of the initiative.

Nigeria Customs had announced on Feb. 20 that it would facilitate the direct disposal of food items forfeited to the Federal Government. The initiative was in response to the current challenges of food security in Nigeria and the increasingly high costs of essential food items.

It also targeted an improvement in the lives of indigents. The distribution of 25kg of rice, thus, commenced on Feb. 23 at the discounted price of N10,000 in Lagos. The service said that the exercise would be managed to ensure that the benefits reach the needy.

According to the service spokesperson, the bags of rice were out of stock during the pilot distribution, which led to heightened desperation among the crowd. “Unforeseen challenges arose when we ran out of stock and announced the continuation of the exercise the following day, leading to a regrettable outcome.

“The crowd became desperate and charged through our barricades in search of rice bags inside emptied containers. In the stampede that ensued, some fatalities and injuries were regrettably recorded.

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“Considering the recent unfortunate event, we regrettably announce the suspension of this exercise until we establish what transpired on Friday, 23 February 2024,” he said. He said that an internal investigation had been initiated to understand the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate event.

The service commiserated with the families of the deceased and assured them of its unwavering support. NCS is working with hospital authorities to establish contact and engage directly with the victims’ families regarding their next steps,” he said.

In a similar development, the Spokesperson, in an interview with NAN, said that the process of selling the rice was in line with its regulations. He said that the money collected from the sales was going directly into the federation account.

This was in reaction to critics who had argued that the bag of rice sold at N10,000 was supposed to be given free to the vulnerable in the society. He said that the items had monetary value and were sold at that amount to generate revenue for the government.

“Even though the amount of revenue collected through this scheme is inconsequential compared to what we collect as revenue, we need to recoup the value of duty that would have been collected on those items if they were imported into Nigeria,” he said. According to him, the price of the rice was discounted to enable indigents afford it.

“But it was later given out for free because of the mammoth crowd at the distribution centre,”

Stampede, deaths: Customs suspends sales of seized edibles

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FG secures release of 6 women arrested for human trafficking in Cape Verde

Published

6 hours ago

April 17, 2025

Trends Admin

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar

FG secures release of 6 women arrested for human trafficking in Cape Verde

The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) has successfully secured the release of six Nigerian women who were wrongfully detained in Cape Verde over baseless trafficking accusations.

Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, the spokesperson of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, revealed via a statement on Wednesday, April 16 that the Nigerian Mission in Guinea Bissau worked closely with the Cape Verdean authorities to ensure the women’s release.

She noted that the women had travelled to Cape Verde for vacation but were unfortunately arrested on unfounded human trafficking charges, which were eventually proven to be false.

Ebienfa mentioned that the minister expressed his satisfaction with the successful resolution of the matter and reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding the rights and well-being of Nigerians abroad.

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The statement read, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to happily inform you that the Nigerian ladies who were detained in Cape Verde have all been released and have left the country, too.

“The Ministry engaged Cape Verde authorities via our Mission in Guinea Bissau to secure their release.

“The six ladies travelled to Cape Verde for a holiday and were unfortunately detained on allegations of trafficking, which turned out to be false.”

FG secures release of 6 women arrested for human trafficking in Cape Verde

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Bayelsa lawmaker, Wike’s ally exchange blows amid tension over scheduled event [VIDEO]

Published

7 hours ago

April 17, 2025

Trends Admin

Bayelsa lawmaker, Wike’s ally exchange blows amid tension over scheduled event [VIDEO]

A lawmaker in the Bayelsa State House of Assembly and an ally of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike were captured engaging in a fight.

In a video circulating on social media, the Chief Whip of the Assembly, Hon. Gabriel Ogbara, was seen engaging in a heated struggle with the Ogbia Ward 8 Coordinator of the pro-Wike political group, the NEW Associates.

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The footage was posted by George Turnah, a known supporter of Wike and a former legal adviser to the PDP in the South-South zone.

Turnah, who was recently suspended by the Bayelsa PDP, has been at loggerheads with Governor Douye Diri over plans to organize a rally in Yenagoa in support of Wike. The event is scheduled for Saturday, April 26, 2025.

Despite both Diri and Wike belonging to the PDP, the two powerbrokers have been locked in a quiet political rivalry, particularly over control of the party’s structure in the South-South. Governor Diri currently chairs the South-South Governors’ Forum.

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Bayelsa lawmaker, Wike’s ally exchange blows amid tension over scheduled event [VIDEO]

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How Obasanjo, Jonathan, Buhari paid lip service to power sector – Minister

Published

7 hours ago

April 17, 2025

Trends Admin

Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu

How Obasanjo, Jonathan, Buhari paid lip service to power sector – Minister

Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has blamed previous Nigerian presidents and leaders for the lingering crisis in the country’s power sector.

Speaking while receiving a World Bank delegation in his Abuja office, Adelabu said successive administrations failed to take decisive action, leading to the degeneration currently plaguing power generation, transmission, and distribution.

He, however, expressed optimism under the current administration, noting that President Bola Tinubu has shown genuine concern and given total support toward reforms aimed at revamping the power sector.

“We actually have a past that we are not proud of. Over the years, we have only been paying lip service to transforming the power sector but have not worked the talk.

“Previous administrations have kept on doing the same thing all the time and you cannot get different results for that, which is why we have decided to do things differently this time. In all the segments across the sector, we must run away from the past,” Adelabu said in the statement by Bolaji Tunji, his special adviser on strategic communications and media relations.

He said the neglect of critical power infrastructure over the years, “including thousands of kilometres of transmission lines and hundreds of thousands of transformers”, has deepened the challenges in the sector.

“How will you explain the kind of infrastructure that we put together for our transmission network across the country? Thousands of kilometers of power line, thousands of power transformers, hundreds of thousands of distribution transformers that we have not maintained over time and expect them to keep sustaining our energy supply. It is not possible,” Adelabu said.

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“How do we allow our people to be vandalising infrastructure and expect stable electricity? So how do you have a sector with over 12 million customers and our meter is not more than six million and we expect to have a stable industry? No, it’s not possible. So what has happened with past governments?

“In 1984, when the military was in power here, we achieved a 2000 megawatts. Between 1984 and 2023, it took us 40 years to add additional 2000 megawatts. Now we have an average of 5,800 megawatts generation within one and a half years that we came to the office.

“What I’m saying is that, if the past administrations have been adding things like this, we will not be where we are today. And that is why I said that President Tinubu is actually laying the kind of foundation that we need for our country to grow”, he added.

He blamed the Muhammadu Buhari administration for stalling on the Siemens power deal signed in 2019.

“We entered into the Siemens contract in 2019. We never lifted a finger until 2023, when this government came on board. So you can now imagine since this President came in and now look at the mileage we have achieved,” he said.

The minister, however, noted that the pilot phase of the Siemens power project is nearly complete in under two years, expressing confidence in a brighter future for the power sector.

The minister implored the World Bank team to continue to support the Tinubu’s administration to ensure that the investment of the current administration succeeds.

“One thing that this administration has brought to the table is the seriousness, the determination, the commitment to make sure that the power sector is transformed.

“There is very little you can achieve in your agriculture sector, in your transportation sector, in your defense, education, or health; without stable and efficient electricity supply.

“That is why the President is really focusing on this, and he is supporting whatever we need to do to make sure that we transform this sector. He is ready to give us that support”, he noted.