ONE week after a stampede at the Niger State Government House in Minna claimed at least three lives and left several others injured, the Niger State Government and the police have maintained what families describe as a worrying silence over the incident, with no comprehensive official account of the tragedy, no publicly released record of those who died and no announced condolence, assistance or other form of appeasement for the bereaved families.
News Point Nigeria reports that the Niger State Government has not yet issued a formal, comprehensive statement regarding the September 29, 2026, stampede at the Government House in Minna, despite an earlier assurance that an official statement would be released “in due course.”
Bologi Ibrahim, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, stated shortly after the incident that the state government would release an official statement “in due course,” but a full release has not been formally published.
The Niger State Police Command has similarly not publicly provided a comprehensive account of the incident. Its spokesperson, SP Wasiu Abiodun, initially indicated that the command would verify the reports and revert.
A week ago, at least three people lost their lives while several others were injured following a stampede at the Niger State Government House in Minna. The injured victims are currently receiving treatment at the Minna General Hospital.
The incident reportedly occurred on Tuesday night when youths linked to a planned protest over the recent deaths of 37 artisanal miners were allegedly invited to the Government House to shelve their protest.
However, the gathering reportedly grew after information spread that the governor would distribute money to those present.
Among those who lost their lives were a woman, Dije, and her daughter, Hurairat, both internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Allawa community in Shiroro Local Government Area.
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 Alawa, one of the IDPs, told this newspaper that Dije and Hurairat would both be buried at 10am last Wednesday.
The circumstances surrounding the gathering have also raised questions about how the crowd was mobilised and how the situation was managed before the stampede.
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.
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 shortly after the incident, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Bologi Ibrahim, said the government would release a statement in due course.
Also, the spokesperson for the Niger Police Command, SP Wasiu Abubakar, promised to verify the information and revert.
But one week later, there has been no publicly available comprehensive statement from either the state government or the police detailing what happened, how the stampede occurred, the confirmed number and identities of those who died, or whether any investigation has been concluded or commenced.
There also appears to be no publicly released official record of the deceased, despite the fact that families have already begun burying their loved ones and questions continue to linger over the circumstances that led to their deaths.
For the bereaved families, the silence has become even more painful because there has been no publicly announced condolence, financial assistance, medical support or other form of appeasement from the state government for those who lost their loved ones or those injured in the stampede.
The silence is particularly concerning given that the incident occurred at the Government House, a place where the state government itself was expected to have considerable responsibility for crowd management, security and the organisation of whatever gathering or distribution was taking place.
It remains unclear whether the police or other security agencies have opened a formal investigation into the deaths, whether officials responsible for managing the gathering have been questioned and whether any measures have been taken to prevent a recurrence.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has expressed sadness over the death of three people in the stampede at the Niger State Government House in Minna.
Three people were killed while several others were injured in the incident, which occurred on Tuesday night after a crowd gathered at the Government House amid reports that ₦10,000 would be distributed.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku said the victims should be remembered as people with families and futures.
“Three Nigerians reportedly went to a Government House and did not return home. I mourn them with their families. I pray for those who were injured and call for their immediate care,” he said.
Atiku said the incident highlighted the economic pressure on Nigerian households but stressed that government assistance should be organised in a manner that protects people’s lives.
“That people would rush towards the possibility of ₦10,000 tells us something painful about the pressure on Nigerian households,” he said.
“But desperation must never be met with a distribution arrangement that puts lives at risk. Help offered in the name of government must be organised with dignity and with the safety of the people as its first concern.”
He called on the Niger State Government to establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths, including how the gathering was announced and managed.
Atiku also urged the government to support the families of those who died and those injured in the incident.
Speaking to this newspaper, a relative of one of the deceased, Malam Auwalu, condemned the government’s silence over the incident, saying the families feel abandoned because the victims were poor and internally displaced persons.
According to him, the absence of an official response has deepened the family’s feeling that there may be no justice for those who died.
“It is because they are poor people and IDPs that nobody cares about them. That is why nobody is saying anything and no justice will come,” he said.
Auwalu said the families could only leave the matter to Allah, whom he described as the final judge on the matter.