Ten people, including four children, were killed in a stampede in Nigeria's capital when a large crowd gathered to collect food distributed by a local church at a Christmas event, police said Saturday.
The stampede occurred in the early hours of the morning at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama, an upscale part of Abuja, police spokesperson Josephine Adeh said in a statement, adding that over 1,000 people were evacuated from the church.
Viral videos from the scene show lifeless bodies lying on the ground as people scream for help.
Some of the injured have been treated and discharged, while others continue to receive medical attention, Adeh said.
It is the second such stampede in a week in Africa's most populous nation, as local organizations, churches and individuals increasingly organize charity events in the run-up to Christmas amid the country's worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.
A recent stampede in Nigeria has raised questions about security measures at such events. Several children were killed earlier in the week when a local foundation organized a fair to distribute gifts to children in the southwestern state of Oyo.
After the latest disaster, the police in Abuja announced that prior permission must be obtained before holding such charity events.
Nigeria's current economic woes under President Bola Tinubu, who promised “renewed hope” when he took office in May 2023, have been blamed for soaring inflation, which has hit a 28-year high, and government economic policies that have pushed the local currency to a record low. level against the dollar.
Frustration over the cost of living crisis has led to mass protests in recent months. In August, at least 20 people were shot dead and hundreds more arrested during protests demanding better opportunities and jobs for young people.
In 2022, a stampede at a church charity event in southern Nigeria, 31 people were killed and seven injured, police told The Associated Press, in a shocking development for a program meant to give hope to those in need. One of the witnesses said that among the dead were a pregnant woman and many children.