The All Progressives Congress (APC) has officially confirmed the death of one of its members, Comfort Adebanjo, and six others who died in a stampede while attempting to purchase seized rice put on sale by the Nigeria Customs Service. The incident occurred on Friday and was confirmed by the ruling party in an obituary message released on Saturday.
The Nigeria Customs Service had earlier announced plans to commence the direct distribution of seized food items to Nigerians in response to the critical challenges of food security and the soaring cost of essential food items in the country. The spokesman of the service, Abdullahi Maiwada, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.
However, the attempt to alleviate the effect of the current economic hardship in the country led to a tragic incident. The Coordinator of FKL Ward E1, Lagos State of the APC, Oluwafemi Fadahunsi, and Secretary, Comrade Adebari Adewale, confirmed that Adebanjo was one of the seven persons who died during the stampede.
In the obituary released on Saturday, the party wrote, “It is with heavy hearts and regret we announce the painful death of one of our members in FKL WARD E1, Mrs Adebanjo Comfort Funmilayo of house number 104, Ibidun street by AKINHANMI street, Ojuelegba. She was among the 7 victims who died in the course of buying custom rice at Yaba. May God grant all the members of her family and all the residents of WARD E1 the fortitude to bear the irreplaceable loss.”
This tragic incident underscores the severity of the economic hardship faced by many Nigerians and the urgent need for effective measures to address food security in the country.
