A stampede Saturday at a church charity event in southern Nigeria left 31 people dead and seven injured, police announced to the Associated Press. One witness told authorities that a pregnant woman and many children were involved in the stampede.
The charity program was supposed to start at 9 a.m. but many people arrived as early as 5 a.m. to secure their spot in line, Iringe-Koko said. Somehow the locked gate was broken which then caused the stampede, she said.
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Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency explained that first responders were able to evacuate the bodies of those trampled to death and bring them to the morgue. “People were there earlier and some got impatient and started rushing, which led to stampeding. The police are on the ground monitoring the situation while the investigation is ongoing,” Iringe-Koko told Reuters.
Seven others were injured but are “responding to treatment,” Iringe-Koko shared. The event was canceled while authorities launched an investigation on how the stampede transpired.
According to another eyewitness Christopher Eze, some of the members of the church were attacked and wounded by families of the victims after the stampede. The church has refused to comment on the situation.
Over 30 dead in #Nigeria at a Church event. But since Nigeria is not #Ukraine, the tragedy may not get reported. https://t.co/aBtrJy8OgQ
— Tarek Fatah (@TarekFatah) May 28, 2022
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2 persons reportedly killed in stampede as looters invade Warehouse in Gwagwalada, Abuja Nigeria, where Covid-19 palliatives were stored
26th October 2020
pic.twitter.com/x4WBv0LOdZ— Rotimi🚀 (@Olowo_Rotimi) October 26, 2020
According to The Associated Press, Nigeria has been involved with stampedes in the past. In 2013, Twenty four people reportedly died at an overcrowded church gathering. The following year in 2014, at least 16 people were killed when a crowd got out of control during a screening for government jobs in the nation’s capital, Abuja.