Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) announces the suspension of the rice disposal initiative exercise following a stampede that claimed lives.
The agency in its press release stated, “The disposal of the food items got off to a smooth start at about 0800hrs. We enjoyed the cooperation of the large crowd that obliged us.
This was the case up until about 1700hrs. Unforeseen challenges arose when we ran out of stock and announced the continuation of the exercise the following day.
The crowd became desperate and charged through our barricades in search of rice bags inside emptied containers.
In the stampede, some fatalities and injuries were regrettably recorded.”
Photo credit: @customsNG/Twitter