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Stampedes over food: IGP warns against unorganised sharing of palliatives
The inspector-general of police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun, has warned against l unorganised distribution of palliatives and relief items during this festive period, following the recent incidents that have led to the death of dozens of Nigerians.
The IGP gave the warning in a statement issued by the force’s public relations officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi on Saturday, December 21.
He said the avoidable incidents were worrisome and called for urgent concerns to save the lives of Nigerians, especially the vulnerable youths and elderly.
He said the warning followed “a series of tragic incidents that highlighted the urgent need for a more structured and effective approach to delivering aid to vulnerable communities and members of the public in general.”
Egbetokun recalled that on December 18, a tragic incident occurred in Ibadan, Oyo State, where a stampede at a children’s fun fair resulted in the deaths of at least 35 children and left many others critically injured.
In the early hours of today, Saturday, December 21, another tragedy struck at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Maitama, in Abuja during the distribution of food items to vulnerable and elderly individuals.
About 10 persons died in the stampede, leaving many others injured.
A similar incident also occurred at Okija, Ihiala Local Government, Anambra State, at a palliative distribution set up by a philanthropist identified as Obi Jackson.
It led to the death of several individuals and three persons were confirmed dead while many injured were taken to various hospitals for adequate treatment, the IGP said.
Egbetokun said the Nigeria Police Force was concerned about the dangers posed to public safety during these “unorganised distributions” and funfairs set up by groups, individuals and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including the potential for stampedes and other incidents that could endanger lives.
He blamed the avoidable incidents on the lack of a well-defined plan for distributing palliatives, leading to long lines and unnecessary confrontations among citizens seeking assistance.
As a result, the IGP urged government officials, community leaders, and non-governmental organisations to work collaboratively towards establishing a comprehensive and organised framework for distributing palliatives.
He warned groups and organisers of similar events to ensure the involvement of security agencies as negligence on their part would be criminal and would not be overlooked, as provided for in Section 196 of the Penal Code and Section 344 of the Criminal Code, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Universal Basic Education Commission on Tuesday announced plans to introduce a new template for disbursing counterpart funds under the Universal Basic Education programme.
This was disclosed by the Executive Secretary of the commission, Aisha Garba, during an interactive workshop with State Universal Basic Education Boards in Abuja.
Garba explained that the Federal Government, through UBEC, had recently restructured the delivery of basic education nationwide to align with four strategic pillars aimed at improving access and quality across states and the Federal Capital Territory.
She identified the pillars as expanding access to basic education, especially for rural and underserved populations; enhancing the quality of teaching and learning nationwide; strengthening accountability and the effective use of education financing; and optimising monitoring and institutional systems for quality service delivery.
She said, “The Hope Education Project of the present administration is a performance-for-reward initiative designed to support states that judiciously utilise resources in line with these four pillars.”
She added that the new approach had made it necessary to develop fresh templates that will guide SUBEBs in preparing work plans to access UBE intervention funds under the framework of the Hope Education Project.
Also speaking at the event, UBEC’s Deputy Executive Secretary for General Services, Tunde Ajibulu, described the workshop as timely and essential.
He stressed that the realignment of basic education delivery made the introduction of the new templates crucial.
“We expect you, as implementers of basic education in your respective states, to contribute positively and help develop workable templates,” Ajibulu said.
A Kano State High Court on Tuesday dismissed an application filed by former Kano State Governor and current National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear a bribery and misappropriation case against him.
The Kano State Government brought 11 counts against Ganduje, his wife Hafsat, son Umar, and five others, alleging bribery totalling $413,000 and misappropriation of N1.38 billion.
The other defendants include Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited, and Lasage General Enterprises Limited.
Delivering her ruling, Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu dismissed all preliminary objections raised by the defendants, describing them as incompetent and lacking merit.
She ruled that the charges filed on May 13, 2024, were competent and that the matter should proceed to trial.
The judge further issued a summons to the sixth defendant, Lamash Properties Limited, and adjourned the case to July 30 and 31, 2025, for hearing.
Ganduje, his wife Hafsat, and son Umar, had through their lawyer, Mrs. Lydia Oyewo, filed a preliminary objection dated November 18, 2024, challenging the court’s jurisdiction and seeking to have all charges quashed.
In response, counsel for the state government, Adeola Adedipe (SAN), filed a counter-application dated October 22, 2024, urging the court to dismiss the preliminary objections for lacking merit.
Similarly, counsel for the third and seventh defendants, M.N. Duru, (SAN), submitted a motion on notice dated October 18, 2024, supported by a 14-paragraph affidavit and a written address, asking the court to uphold their application.
Counsel for the fifth defendant, Muhammad Shehu, also filed a motion dated October 18, 2024, and urged the court to grant it with substantial costs against the complainant.
Abubakar Ahmad, representing the sixth defendant, filed a preliminary objection dated September 9, 2024, supported by a nine-paragraph affidavit.
Additionally, counsel for the eighth defendant, Faruk Asekome, filed a notice of preliminary objection dated October 18, 2024, supported by a five-paragraph affidavit and written address, also seeking dismissal of the charges.
Justice Adamu-Aliyu, however, ruled that the objections lacked merit and cleared the way for the trial to proceed.
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