A tragic stampede on Saturday at a palliative distribution event in Okija, Anambra State, left no fewer than 22 people dead, including a young mother, leaving her grieving husband lamenting the incident.
The event, held at the Obijackson Centre in the Amanranta area of Okija, was organized to distribute 25kg bags of rice, vegetable oil, and cash to community members during the Yuletide season. The victims, mainly women, children, and the elderly, were crushed as a massive crowd surged at the venue’s gates.
Uchenna Nwaudo, a resident of Okija, lost his wife in the incident despite warning her not to attend.
Sharing his ordeal with PUNCH NEWSPAPER, he said, “I am from Umuohi village in Okija. On the fateful day, I had warned my wife not to go to the rice-sharing venue because of our little baby who was not feeling fine. I asked my wife not to attend the event to look after the boy.
“But I was at the place of my business at Ihiala junction when I was called to rush to Amaranta, venue of the palliatives sharing, that there was a heavy stampede and my wife was trampled upon and that she had just slumped on the floor. I expressed surprise as I had already warned her not to attend.
“But when I got there, to my surprise, I met her lifeless body and my baby still strapped on her back while everywhere was rowdy and everybody scampering to safety. I looked and observed that the baby was still alive. What I did was remove the baby from her back and leave the scene.”
He said he could not even carry her lifeless body as everywhere was still very rowdy noting that it was by the grace of God that he managed to escape the scene. “Even my mobile phone and her handbag were nowhere to be found,” he added.
“It was later that I learnt that the lifeless body was taken to the mortuary by the ambulance provided by the organisers of the event. I went to the mortuary at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Ihiala, to see the lifeless body. I have consulted with members of the family and we are making arrangements to go and pick up the corpse for proper burial.
“It was an unfortunate situation. I won’t blame the organisers of the event, because it is a gesture they have been doing over the years as a way of helping the members of the community to put a smile on their faces during Yuletide. But this one turned out to be like this.
“It was impatience on the part of the people and poor crowd control that contributed to the incident. I learnt that the security operatives battled to control the surging crowd who forced entry into the premises.
