*Government’s Economic Policies Reduced Poor Nigerians to Beggars, Leading to Stampede Deaths
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The Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond (ASCAB) has strongly condemned the deaths of at least 105 Nigerians, including numerous children, who were killed in stampedes while struggling to obtain food and cash handouts between March 2022 and December 2024.
In a statement released on December 22, 2024, ASCAB Chairman Femi Falana SAN detailed seven tragic incidents that occurred across the country:
1. On May 22, 2022, at least 30 people were killed in Port Harcourt, Rivers State during a crowded church charity food distribution event.
2. On March 22, 2024, 2 students died and 23 were hospitalized at Nasarawa State University during a stampede that occurred while collecting palliatives from the state government.
3. On March 25, 2024, 7 people, including an 8-year-old girl, were crushed to death at a N5,000 cash giveaway event organized by a businessman in Bauchi.
4. On April 7, 2024, 9 people lost their lives in a stampede that took place at the residence of former Sokoto Governor Aliyu Wamakko as they struggled to obtain palliatives.
5. On December 19, 2024, 35 children were confirmed dead and 6 injured in a stampede at a Christmas event in Ibadan, Oyo State.
6. On December 21, 2024, at least 10 people, including children, died with many others injured in a crush at a palliative distribution by a church in Abuja that attracted over 3,000 residents.
7. On December 21, 2024, a minimum of 12 deaths were confirmed with 32 people injured while collecting Christmas rice at an event organized by a local philanthropist in Okija town, Anambra State.
Falana stated that the victims were “poor and disadvantaged citizens who had been reduced to beggars” due to poverty induced by the federal government’s economic policies. He blamed the “incompetence” of security forces in controlling and managing crowds.
The Senior Advocate also pointed out the “lack of respect for the dignity of the poor” by the elite and middle class involved in these charitable distributions. “If you want to give a poor man food or money, for heaven’s sake, it should be done with utmost decency and demonstrable humanity,” Falana asserted. “No member of the elite invites others to lunch by throwing the food.”
Falana noted that since those whose criminal negligence caused these avoidable tragedies are members of the ruling class, the government response has not gone beyond offering condolence messages. Therefore, ASCAB plans to mobilize lawyers to file civil suits to ensure the survivors and victims’ families receive adequate compensation.
He concluded the statement by declaring emphatically, “Enough is enough!”
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