By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mrs. Zubaida Umar, has called on charity organizations and others giving out palliatives to always ensure proper crowd management during distribution of items to the public to prevent stampedes and avoidable loss of lives.
Umar made this call after recent incidents of stampedes across the country, at Ibadan, Oyo State; Okija, Anambra State and Abuja, which resulted in multiple deaths and injuries within the span of four days.
She expressed concerns that such tragic outcomes undermine the goodwill behind charity events, turning acts of kindness into sources of grief due to poor planning and crowd control.
While sympathizing with the families of the deceased and those injured, the minister urged organizers of similar events to engage professionals and the support of security agencies to manage crowds effectively.
She emphasized the importance of ensuring safety during such activities to prevent recurring tragedies.
Meanwhile, NEMA FG has directed all Zonal Territorial and Operations offices of the agency to be pro- active in respond to emergencies and provide supports to first responders in the area of traffic management due to the usual increase of traffics during the Yuletide and end of the year festivities.
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