Christmas Palliatives: 27 People Stampeded To Death In Abuja, Anambra 

By Philip Tayo 

A total number of 27 people has been reportedly stampeded to death with several others injured at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church located at the Maitama area of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja as well as Okija in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State, following another stampede during the distribution of Christmas rice by officials of Obijackson Foundation on Saturday morning. 

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Reports gathered by Treasure Newspaper through its sources in Abuja and Anambra  revealed that the Saturday incidents occurred when residents scrambled to receive palliatives distributed by the Church and the foundation.

According to the investigations, the event was organised to provide relief to struggling residents, reportedly drew residents mostly from Mpape, Gishiri Villages, and other nearby settlements in Abuja.

However, eyewitnesses claim the incident occurred between 7 am and 8 am on Saturday when the crowd surged forward to receive the palliatives.

Similar incident occurred few days ago at Ibadan, the Oyo State Capital where about 35 little kids were stampeded to death and about 6 critically injured in the process. 

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In Anambra State, the Foundation was said to have been distributing such gifts annually for many years and people in the entire Ihiala local government and other neighbouring communities always look forward to it.

According to eyewitnesses, the victims, mostly women and youths, had stationed themselves at the facility as early as 5 am on Saturday, waiting for the distribution to begin at daybreak.

The eyewitness said that the crowd became uncontrollable when the distribution began, as they rushed to collect the rice, leading to the stampede.

The dead bodies and those who sustained injuries were rushed to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Ihiala.

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In a viral video, dead bodies, including pregnant women, littered the vicinity of the hospital’s mortuary.

The video also showed chaotic scenes of people rushing to escape, with some trying to revive those who fell unconsciously.

The state police command is yet to confirm the incident, but many relatives of the victims were seen sobbing uncontrollably

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“Yes it’s true. But with sketchy details,” he said

This tragedy mirrors a similar incident that occurred just days earlier in Ibadan, Oyo State, where a stampede at a children’s funfair resulted in the deaths of at least 35 children and left six others critically injured.

The event, held at the Islamic High School in Bashorun, Ibadan, attracted over 5,000 children and turned fatal when attendees rushed to receive food and gifts distributed by the organizers.

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