In the Saturday Abuja stampede, ten people were confirmed deceased at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama, Abuja, where the outreach was held.
The incident occurred about 6 a.m. during an annual charity event organized by Catholic Church parishes to deliver food to the community’s needy and vulnerable members.
According to an eyewitness named John, the throng stayed orderly until about 5 a.m.
He stated, “Many people came from the Mararaba, Nyanya, and Mpape districts to benefit from the church’s food handout.
“To be honest, the church did not expect the amount of the audience that showed there. Although there were two security operators on duty, they couldn’t handle the expanding crowd properly.
“Initially, everyone was orderly, but as the day progressed, the number of people doubled. In their haste to obtain the rice first, people began pushing and shoving. Before we knew it, we were hearing shouts for aid from people who had fallen or been injured. The cops arrived to rescue the injured and disperse others who remained behind in the hope that the distribution would continue.”
Reverend Father Mike Umoh, National Director of Social Communications at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, expressed concern at the occurrence, saying that the parish may have been overwhelmed by the enormous turnout.
He stated that the church has never witnessed such an event in the years since the outreach began.
He stated that the tragic event should serve as a warning to other organizers to exercise greater caution and deploy stronger crowd management procedures.
Umoh confirmed the deaths, saying, “Yes, a terrible occurrence occurred during the parish’s charity outreach today at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama.
“It is wonderful to know that practically every parish in Nigeria, particularly the viable parishes, has always had this activity, and the people who attend are aware of it. Beneficiaries frequently check out to see what day it is.
“In fact, they start telling one another about it. This practice is normally carried out by the church’s social arm, Justice and Peace Development.They coordinate it on behalf of the entire parish. So this is something that has been going on for years.”
Umoh further stated that the stampede reflected the situation of the nation and the country’s hunger.
SP Josephine Adeh, the FCT Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, stated that ten people perished in the event, while eight others were injured and sent to a hospital for treatment.
Similarly, Nkechi Isa, Head of Public Affairs at the FCT Emergency Management Department, acknowledged the incident in a statement, adding that ten people were hurt.
“The stampede took place while the church was delivering palliatives to the least fortunate members of society. “The unfortunate event occurred at 6:30 a.m. today,” the statement said.
