Source: The Patriot Light | AWK Network | VIEW ORIGINAL POST ==>
ABUJA, Nigeria—At least 13 people, including four children, were killed in two separate stampedes in Nigeria as large crowds gathered to collect food and clothing items distributed at annual Christmas events, the police said Saturday.
The two accidents came days after another such stampede in Africa’s most populous country, amid a growing trend by local organizations, churches and individuals to organize charity events ahead of Christmas, as the country struggles with the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.
Ten people were killed in the first stampede in the early hours at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama, an upmarket part of the capital, Abuja, police spokesman Josephine Adeh said in a statement, adding that more than 1,000 people have been evacuated from the church.
There was a crowd surge at one of the church gates, as dozens tried to enter the premises at around 4 a.m., hours before the gift items were to be shared, witnesses said, pointing out that some had been waiting since the previous night.
“The way they were rushing to enter, some people were falling and some of them were old,” Loveth Inyang, a witness. Inyang said he managed to rescue one…
