Five feared killed, several injured in Niger govt House stampede

At least five youths were feared dead on Tuesday after a stampede occurred at the Niger State Government House in Minna during a gathering organised by Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago ahead of the planned Independence Day protest.

Very Nigerian reports that more than 5,000 youths reportedly gathered at the Government House for the meeting. The situation reportedly turned chaotic when a rush for money allegedly being distributed by the governor triggered a stampede.

Several youths were also said to have sustained injuries in the incident.

Ambulances were reportedly deployed to evacuate some of the injured victims to the General Hospital in Minna for medical attention.

The incident also reportedly prompted several families to visit the hospital in search of relatives who had attended the gathering.

A source at the Government House, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed concern over the large crowd allowed into the premises, saying the situation ought to have been anticipated by security personnel.

According to the source, the crowd became overwhelming and raised concerns about the absence of adequate arrangements for crowd control.

He said he attempted to alert the governor’s Chief Press Secretary after becoming apprehensive about the situation but could not reach him.

The source said: “How will a governor allow this large number of people into the Government House and not prepare for crowd control?

“This is deeply unfortunate. Honestly, this country is finished. How did we get to the point where people attend a gathering and families have to start calling hospitals to find out if their loved ones are among the injured?

“Honestly, I think the security personnel at the entrance gates of the Government House, Minna, should be blamed for not being up to their duties.”

Meanwhile, a source at the General Hospital, Minna, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed that two ambulances had made trips to the hospital with injured youths.

The source, however, could not confirm the number of victims brought to the hospital, saying doctors and nurses were making efforts to provide bed spaces and attend to the injured.

Very Nigerian could not independently confirm the reported five deaths as of press time.

Attempts to reach the governor’s Chief Press Secretary for an official reaction were unsuccessful, as his telephone lines were not reachable.

The state government had also not issued an official statement on the reported stampede and casualties as of press time.

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