AT least three people have lost their lives while several others were injured following a stampede at the Niger State Government House in Minna on Tuesday night.
News Point Nigeria reports that the injured victims are currently receiving treatment at the Minna General Hospital, while sources said six people were in critical condition following the incident.
A source close to the state government who attended the event told this newspaper that Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago had gathered the youths at the Government House amid plans for a fresh protest in Minna over the deaths of the 37 suspected illegal miners who died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
“There was a stampede at Government House today and three people died as a result,” the source said.
“Six youths are in critical condition. The governor gathered people at Government House this evening to share money. That was why people were there.
The source added: “The governor is in the state. There is a plan to carry out a protest on Thursday. So he gathered youths to tell them that they should disassociate themselves from the protest. So from there, he started sharing money.”
The source said the large crowd gathered at the Government House after the gate was left open, leading to overcrowding and the subsequent stampede.
Among those who lost their lives were a woman identified as Dije and her daughter, Hurairat, both internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Allawa community in Shiroro Local Government Area of the state.
Hurairat’s husband, Abubakar, a butcher, was reportedly killed by bandits in 2023 along the Allawa-Pandogari Road.
Following the attack and the subsequent desertion of the Allawa community, Hurairat had been living in Minna as an IDP.
Dije, who was staying with her husband as an IDP in Gurmana, had visited her daughter, Hurairat, when they both heard that the governor was going to distribute money at the Government House. They subsequently went there.
Malam Musa Allawa, one of the IDPs, told this newspaperr that Dije and Hurairat were both buried at 10am on Wednesday.
Other sources including some appointees of the governor, had posted on social media before the stampede that the youths had gathered at the Government House to show solidarity with Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago.
However, one of the appointees told this newspaper that other people, including women, later trooped to the Government House after hearing that the governor would distribute N10,000 to those gathered.
When contacted, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Bologi Ibrahim, said the government would release a statement in due course.
The spokesperson for the Niger Police Command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, also promised to verify the information and revert.