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The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, says government failures were responsible for the recent stampedes in Oyo, Anambra and Abuja.
The Bishop stated this on Wednesday in his Christmas message, stressing that the stampedes were a metaphor for the situation of desperation that citizens have been thrown into.
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“The tragedies that occurred in Okija, Ibadan, and Abuja where innocent people lost their lives in stampedes at food distribution points are a metaphor for the situation of desperation that citizens have been thrown into.
“The failures of government to respond concretely toward ending the horrible crisis of hunger and desperation has created the conditions for these avoidable tragedies.
“Citizens are lapsing into despair,” he said.
While noting that the tragedies were avoidable, the cleric said that government needs to work more closely with institutions that help to promote the common good, adding that it is the duty of government to ensure minimum dignity for the people.
The cleric prayed that God grants eternal rest to the dead and console their families.
The Eastern Updates reports that many lost their lives, and several others were wounded in multiple stampedes in Anambra and the FCT during the distribution of food items on Saturday.
The Eastern Updates has reported that about 24 hours to Christmas, the prices of cooking gas and food items have skyrocketed in Kaduna.
The prices of provisions, grains and other staple food items are rising steadily in markets and shops across the state, with many people saying that they cannot afford to buy anything to celebrate the Christmas with their families.
Checks by The Eastern Updates on Tuesday in Kaduna showed that the prices of food items like rice, beans, yams, garri and noodles had gone up about four times in 2024 alone
At the Sheikh Abubakar Gumi market, Kaduna’s central market, a 50kg bag of foreign, which was sold for about N80,000 before, is now being sold for between ₦90,000 and ₦100,000.
Also, yams, which only a few weeks ago were sold for ₦5,000 per tuber, now go for ₦7,000 per tuber and N28,000 for a set of five.
A local measure of eight cups of beans now sells between ₦1,000 and N2,500, while a measure of garri, previously N1,300, was now being sold for between N1,400 and N1,500.
A carton of Indomie noodles previously sold at N7,500 has gone up to N7,700 while a basket of Irish potatoes, sold previously at between N5,000 and N5,500, now sells for N6,000 per basket.