By Our Reporter 

At least 10 people have reportedly lost their lives, and many others sustained injuries, in a stampede at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama, Abuja, on Saturday morning.

The tragic incident occurred during the distribution of palliatives organised by the church to assist struggling residents. The event attracted a large crowd, including residents from Mpape, Gishiri Village, and other nearby settlements.

Eyewitnesses reported that the stampede happened between 7 am and 8 am as the crowd surged forward in a desperate bid to collect the relief items. The chaotic scene resulted in fatalities and left several others with varying degrees of injuries.

Efforts to obtain further details from the Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) spokesperson, Nkechi Isa, were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.

This tragedy comes just days after a similar incident in Ibadan, Oyo State, where a stampede at a children’s funfair led to the deaths of at least 35 children and left six others critically injured.

The back-to-back tragedies have raised concerns about crowd control measures during public events. Analysts and residents are calling for immediate action to prevent such avoidable loss of lives, particularly during humanitarian activities.

Authorities are yet to release an official statement, but investigations are expected to shed light on the circumstances leading to the tragic incident in Abuja.