Pay Victims’ Families Or Face Court, Falana-Led ASCAB Warns Customs Over Deadly Stampede

The Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond (ASCAB) has demanded that the Nigeria Customs Service compensate the families of seven indigent citizens who lost their lives in a tragic stampede during a food distribution exercise in Lagos on February 23, 2023.
In a strongly-worded statement released on March 10, 2024, ASCAB Chairman Femi Falana SAN criticized the Customs authorities for failing to identify and commiserate with the bereaved families, while also blaming the victims for their “impatience.”
The fatal incident occurred when the Customs embarked on distributing 25kg bags of rice at subsidized rates of N10,000 each to indigent Nigerians at its Zonal Headquarters in Yaba, Lagos. The exercise was marred by a stampede that led to the unfortunate deaths, prompting its immediate suspension by the Customs.
Falana argued that given the high cost of rice at N77,000 per 25kg bag at the time, the Customs should have foreseen the massive crowds the exercise would attract and taken adequate measures to avoid such a tragedy.
“Since it is common knowledge that similar distribution of food items to poor people had recorded stampedes in the recent past, the authorities of the Nigeria Customs Service must accept full responsibility for the blatant negligence that led to the avoidable death of the seven citizens,” the statement read.
ASCAB has given the Customs Service an ultimatum to urgently identify the bereaved families and pay them adequate monetary compensation for the loss of their loved ones.
“If our advice is ignored, we shall not hesitate to approach the Federal High Court to enforce the fundamental right of each of the deceased persons to life as guaranteed by section 33 of the Nigerian Constitution and article 4 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights,” Falana warned.
The rights group further demanded that the Customs lift the suspension on the distribution of the remaining bags of rice but ensure it is carried out through appropriate local government councils to avoid a repeat of the Yaba incident.
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