By It’s full circle on Saturday as another Christmas rice-sharing stampede has claimed 17 lives with many sustaining injuries at Okija, Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Recall that 35 children were trampled to death in Ibadan last Wednesday over N5,000 billed for sharing to 5,000 kids just as 10 also met their untimely death on Saturday morning during the sharing of Christmas gift by a Catholic church in Abuja.
The Anambra stampede ensued during the distribution of Christmas rice by officials of Obijackson Foundation.
The incident happened at one of Obijackson Foundation facilities at Amarata, Ohalegbu village in Okija.
It was gathered that the foundation has been in the habit of distributing foodstuffs to the underprivileged yearly in the local government – a kind gesture the people always long for as each year winds down.
Eyewitnesses saidthe victims, mostly women and youths, had laid siege to the facility as early as 5:00a.m on Saturday, waiting for the sharing to begin at daybreak.
They said that the crowd became uncontrollable when the sharing began, as the people 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.
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 hurrying to escape, with some trying to revive those who became unconsciously.
The incident has thrown the entire local government into mourning even as police has yet to issue any statement on the matter.
What's your reaction?
