A young girl has reportedly d!ed, and several others were injured in a stampede in Bida, Niger State, as thousands of residents gathered to collect cash handouts reportedly promised by Governor Umar Bago ahead of the November 1 local government elections.
The incident occurred near House 7, the governor’s usual lodge in the Bida Local Government Area, where he is currently staying ahead of the polls.
SaharaReporters learnt that the large crowd had assembled after being asked to come and collect money reportedly to be shared by the governor.
“Look at our people, Allah this is a moment and a sign of hardship in Niger state,” an eyewitness said while lamenting the situation.
The resident added, “It’s very sad that our mothers, our sisters, our brothers, and fathers are here waiting for a small talk on the Niger State governor Umar Bago, a small talking precisely to be like 10 thousand or five thousand or even two thousand naira.”
Describing the huge turnout, the source said, “Just look at the amount of people that are here, this tells about how people are suffering and I can’t even mention the number of people here. There are more than five thousand or 10 thousand.”
According to eyewitnesses, the crowd became uncontrollable when word spread that the governor had arrived to distribute money.
“The governor asks them to come around because he wants to share money. He said there is money,” another witness stated.
Other sources told this newspaper that the casualties might be more than one, adding that two additional persons were feared de@d, although this could not be independently confirmed.
It was gathered that the recent incident followed the governor’s arrival in Bida on Thursday, during which he met with some youths and stakeholders and directed them to inform residents to gather on Friday to receive cash handouts.
It could not be confirmed if the governor eventually distributed the money or not.
However, as of the time of filing this report, the governor had not stepped out to address the mammoth crowd.
This is not the first time such an incident has been reported. In the early days of Bago’s administration, shortly after he assumed office, he regularly invited people to the Government House every Friday, where he shared ₦5,000 to residents.
That exercise was reportedly discontinued after a woman lost her pregnancy, several people fainted, other injured and other unforeseen incidents occurred.
