13 People Including Children Die in Stampedes In Nigeria At

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) – At least 13 people, consisting of four children, were killed in 2 separate stampedes in Nigeria as big crowds collected to collect food and clothes items distributed at annual Christmas events, the police stated Saturday.

The two accidents came days after another such stampede in Africa ´ s most populated nation, in the middle of a growing pattern by regional organizations, churches and people to organize charity drive ahead of Christmas, as the country battles with the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.

Ten individuals were eliminated in the very first stampede in the early hours at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama, an upmarket part of the capital, Abuja, authorities spokesperson Josephine Adeh said in a statement, including that more than 1,000 people have been left from the church.

There was a crowd rise at one of the church gates, as lots tried to go into the premises at around 4 a.m., hours before the present items were to be shared, witnesses said, mentioning that some had been waiting because the previous night.

“The way they were hurrying to enter, some individuals were falling and some of them were old,” Loveth Inyang, a witness. Inyang said he handled to save one baby as his mom had a hard time in the surge.

Three individuals died in a comparable crush later in the southeastern Anambra state’s Okija town at a charity occasion arranged by a philanthropist, the state cops said.

“The occasion had actually not even started when the rush started,” cops spokesperson Tochukwu Ikenga said. There might be more deaths taped as officers investigate the occurrence, he stated.

Viral video that seemed from the Abuja scene showed lifeless bodies pushing the ground as people yelled for aid. A few of the injured have been treated and discharged while others continue to receive treatment, cops said.

The church canceled the charity event with bags of rice and clothes items still arranged within the properties.

As the church held a wedding after the crowd was evacuated, the agony and sadness remained palpable even as friends and families collected for wedding photos.

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu expressed his compassion with the victims’ families and asked states and appropriate authorities to enforce rigorous crowd control measures.

The recent stampedes in Nigeria have raised questions about security steps in such occasions. Several kids were eliminated on Wednesday this week when a regional foundation organized a well-attended funfair to distribute gift items and food to kids in southwestern Oyo state.

After the current disaster, the police in Abuja revealed that prior consent should be obtained before such charity occasions are arranged.

The current financial hardship under Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who guaranteed “restored hope” when he was sworn into workplace in May 2023, is blamed on surging inflation that is at a 28-year high and the federal government ´ s economic policies that have pressed the local currency to tape-record low versus the dollar.

Frustration over the cost-of-living crisis has resulted in mass protests in months. In August, a minimum of 20 people were shot dead and hundreds of others were jailed at demonstrations demanding better chances and tasks for youths.