Priest and others arrested by police in Abuja, Makinde pledges justice for Ibadan victims
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Police in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have arrested the parish priest and other several officials of the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Abuja over the food distribution stampede Saturday in which 10 people died.
And in Ibadan, Oyo Governor Seyi Makinde on Wednesday vowed to ensure justice is carried out to assuage the mourning of the relatives of the 35 victims of the stampede for cash and food that occurred in the city last week.
Upon police arraignment, a court has remanded the organisers of the event in Ibadan but police are still investigating the incidents in Abuja and Anambra.
A Catholic priest first disclosed the news of the arrests on Wednesday before official police confirmation.
In response, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of the Abuja Diocese released a Christmas message in which he condemned the arrests, describing them as counterproductive and lacking compassion.
He also questioned the intent of the move and urged government officials to support the church and those affected by the tragedy instead of threatening legal action.
FCT Police Command spokesperson Josephine Adeh confirmed the arrests, citing negligence of the event organisers.
“How can you host an event of this scale without notifying the police? Ten lives, including those of children, were lost, and many others were injured. Doesn’t this warrant arrest?” she questioned.
But Adeh explained that “I cannot confirm if a priest was arrested unless he was directly involved in organising the event.”
President Bola Tinubu has also weighed in on the matter, blaming the organisers of the food distributions in Abuja, Oyo, and Anambra during his first presidential media briefing on Monday, citing poor planning,
“This is a grave error on the part of the organisers,” he said.
More than 60 people, including children, lost their lives in the three incidents. Many others were injured.
Witnesses to the Abuja stampede reported a surge of people at one of the church’s gates as crowds attempted to enter the premises around 4am, hours before the distribution began.
A survivor, who prefers to remain anonymous, told Leadership newspaper that the chaos ensued when many attendees refused to form a queue for the distribution.
A security official from the parish disclosed that more than 3,000 people, primarily from nearby areas such as Mpape and Gishiri, gathered for the event.
Abdulrahman Mohammed, Acting Director of the FCT Emergency Management Department (FEMD), on Monday informed reporters that all those injured in Abuja have been discharged from hospital.
The police have implemented new guidelines for organisers of large gatherings.
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