Reps Committee Summons Organiser Of Palliative Sharing That Claims 22 Lives In December
By Juliet Vincent
The House Committee on Public Petitions led by Hon. Mike Etaba has summoned the organiser of a Palliative hearing in Okija, Anambra State in December which allegedly claimed 22 Lives and left many injured in December, Chief Ernest Azudialu Obiejesi.
This followed a petition by the Coalition of Nigerian Youth Leaders (CONYL) calling for proper investigation into the sudden death of the twenty-two (22) persons in Okija, Anambra State due to alleged negligence by the organiser and other people involved.
The hearing was held by the Committee on Thursday, 23rd January, 2025, to give fair hearing to citizens who wrote the petitions against organisations and individuals.
The petitioners were represented by Comrade Goodluck Ibem (President General, Coalition of Nigerian Youth Leaders) and Engr Prince Onuoha (Director Mobilization, Coalition of Nigerian Youth Leaders); while the respondent was absent at the hearing.
According to the petitioners, the event organised by the Chairman/CEO of Nectoil and the founder of the Obijackson Foundation, Mr. Ernest Nnaemeka Azudialu Obiejesi in Okija, Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State on Saturday, 21st December, 2024, was intended to provide relief to citizens. But unfortunately, it resulted to a stampede that claimed the lives of twenty-two (22) persons, and injured numerous others.
This catastrophic loss of lives and the ensuing injuries, were preventable and appear to have been caused by gross negligence on the part of the organizer.
“The key issues that contributed to the tragedy include: poor planning and crowd control, lack of adequate security measures, absence of proper venue setup, and failure to anticipate high turnout”, the petitioners stated.
They pleaded with the Committee for proper investigation on the matter, in order to get justice for the victims. The petitioners also seeked for the prosecution of Mr. Ernest Azudialu Obiejesi and those found responsible for the avoidable tragedy. Lastly, they demanded adequate compensation for the families of the deceased and the injured victims.
“The lives lost in the incident cannot be brought back, but justice and accountability must be ensured to provide some solace to the affected families, and to prevent such tragedy from happening again”, they added.
The matter was adjourned to 20th February, 2025, for further investigation and the appearance of the respondent.
