Death toll hits seven in Bauchi Zakat stampede – Police

Death toll hits seven in Bauchi Zakat stampede – Police

The death toll from a stampede at the venue of a Zakaat almsgiving event in Bauchi state on Sunday, March 24, has increased to seven, with three additional women reported dead.

The Nation reports that a stampede had occurred at about 10 am at the Shafa Holdings Company plc headquarters along Jos Road, on Sunday during the distribution of the Zakaat items, distributed by a Bauchi-based philanthropist.

The distribution was said to have begun smoothly, with beneficiaries mostly women called in groups to receive items, until restlessness among others led to a struggle to gain access to the premises.

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Giving an update on the incident, the spokesman of the state police command, SP Ahmed Wakili, in an interview with journalists on Monday disclosed that two more women died at the Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH) hospital, adding that the third woman died at home.

He gave the names of the casualties as Aisha Usman, aged 13; Sahura Abubakar, aged 55; Aisha Ibrahim Abubakar, aged 43; Kobi Street Bauchi; and Khadija Isah, aged 8; Karofi Bauchi.