Stampede Death Toll Prompts Tinubu to Push for Stricter Event Safety Measures
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed state governments and relevant authorities to implement strict crowd control measures following stampedes that claimed 39 lives in Anambra State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
In honour of the victims, President Tinubu cancelled all official engagements in Lagos, including attendance at the 2024 Lagos Boat Regatta.
The Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, expressed his condolences and attributed the tragedies to systemic failures in Nigeria. In a series of tweets, he lamented that hunger and desperation had driven people to such extremes.
The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, and the Obijackson Foundation—the organisers of the Okija event—also expressed sorrow over the incidents. Archbishop Kaigama described the stampede at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama as “shocking” and urged parishes nationwide to adopt effective crowd control measures to prevent future tragedies.
In Okija, the Obijackson Foundation pledged to investigate the cause of the tragedy, promising to learn from the experience to ensure safer future events.
