At least 10 people have lost their lives, and several others sustained injuries in a stampede that occurred at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Maitama, Abuja, on Saturday morning.
The tragic incident happened during a palliative distribution exercise organised by the church to provide relief for struggling residents of nearby communities, including Mpape and Gishiri Village.
Eyewitnesses reported that the stampede occurred between 7am and 8am as the crowd surged forward to receive the items.
One witness, who preferred to remain anonymous, described the scene as chaotic. “There were so many people, and everyone was desperate to get something. Before we knew it, people started falling and stepping on each other. It was terrible,” the source recounted.
The spokesperson for the FCT Emergency Management Department, Mrs Nkechi Isa, was yet to respond to inquiries regarding the incident as of the time of this report.
LEADERSHIP recalls that the incident came just days after a similar tragedy occurred in Ibadan, Oyo State, where at least 35 children died, and six others were critically injured during a stampede at a children’s funfair.
Residents have expressed shock and sadness over the incident in Abuja, with many calling for better crowd control measures at public events.