ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) - A minimum of 13 individuals, including 4 kids, were eliminated in 2 separate stampedes in Nigeria as big crowds collected to gather food and clothing products distributed at annual Christmas occasions, the cops said Saturday.
The two mishaps came days after another such stampede in Africa ´ s most populated nation, amid a growing pattern by local companies, churches and individuals to organize charity occasions ahead of Christmas, as the country struggles with the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.
Ten people were eliminated in the first stampede in the early hours at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama, an upmarket part of the capital, Abuja, authorities representative Josephine Adeh said in a declaration, adding that more than 1,000 people have been left from the church.
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There was a crowd surge at one of the church gates, as lots attempted to enter the properties at around 4 a.m., hours before the gift items were to be shared, witnesses stated, mentioning that some had been waiting given that the previous night.
"The method they were hurrying to go into, some individuals were falling and some of them were old," Loveth Inyang, a witness. Inyang stated he managed to rescue one infant as his mother had a hard time in the rise.
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Three people died in a similar crush later on in the southeastern Anambra state's Okija town at a charity event arranged by a philanthropist, the state cops said.
"The occasion had not even started when the rush started," cops spokesperson Tochukwu Ikenga stated. There might be more deaths tape-recorded as officers examine the event, he said.
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Viral video that seemed from the Abuja scene revealed lifeless bodies lying on the ground as for help. A few of the injured have been dealt with and released while others continue to get treatment, cops stated.
The church canceled the charity occasion with bags of rice and clothes items still set up within the premises.
As the church held a wedding after the crowd was evacuated, the misery and unhappiness stayed palpable even as households and buddies collected for wedding event pictures.
Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu revealed his sympathy with the victims' families and asked states and relevant authorities to enforce stringent crowd control measures.
The current stampedes in Nigeria have raised questions about precaution in such events. Several children were eliminated on Wednesday today when a regional structure arranged a well-attended funfair to disperse gift items and food to kids in southwestern Oyo state.
After the most recent disaster, the authorities in Abuja revealed that previous permission needs to be gotten before such charity drive are organized.
The present financial hardship under Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who promised "renewed hope" when he was sworn into workplace in May 2023, is blamed on rising inflation that is at a 28-year high and the government ´ s financial policies that have pushed the regional currency to record low versus the dollar.
Frustration over the cost-of-living crisis has actually resulted in mass demonstrations in recent months. In August, a minimum of 20 individuals were shot dead and hundreds of others were jailed at protests requiring much better chances and jobs for young individuals.