Nigeria’s free food stampedes were natural disasters: Akpabio
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has described the series of stampedes over free food that occurred across the country in 2024 as natural disasters.
“These were unavoidable circumstances, Not man-made but almost natural disasters. Please accept our sympathies,” said Mr Akpabio during a visit to President Bola Tinubu in Lagos.
He added, “Please accept our sympathies on the stampede that took away our very young children in Ibadan and other places in Anambra. It was not limited to one location.
In December 2024, fatal stampedes at rice distribution venues in Ibadan, Anambra, and Abuja claimed over 65 lives, sparking widespread criticism of Mr Tinubu’s administration, with many Nigerians attributing the deaths to hunger and poverty.
However, Mr Tinubu-led government dismissed criticisms that prevailing economic hardship and hunger in the country contributed to the wave of deadly stampedes at Christmas palliative distribution venues.
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