By Ade Oyeyemi
At least three people have been killed and several others injured in a stampede at the Niger State Government House in Minna.
The incident occurred on Tuesday night, with the injured victims reportedly taken to the Minna General Hospital for treatment.
The stampede happened amid a gathering at the Government House involving youths reportedly linked to plans to protest the recent deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the state.
The youths were said to have been invited to the Government House in an attempt to persuade them to shelve the planned protest.
Two of the victims were identified as Dije and her daughter, Hurairat, who were displaced from Allawa community in Shiroro Local Government Area following attacks that forced residents to abandon the community.
Hurairat’s husband, Abubakar, a butcher, was reportedly killed by bandits in 2023 along the Allawa-Pandogari Road. She subsequently relocated to Minna, where she lived as an internally displaced person.
Dije, who was also staying as an IDP in Gurmana with her husband, had reportedly visited her daughter before the incident.
According to a fellow IDP, Musa Allawa, the mother and daughter were expected to be buried at 10am on Wednesday.
The stampede reportedly occurred after information spread that Governor Umaru Bago would distribute money to people gathered at the Government House.
Some appointees of the governor had earlier posted on social media that youths had assembled at the Government House to show solidarity with the governor.
A source among the governor’s appointees told Daily Trust that more people, including women, later joined the gathering after hearing that N10,000 would allegedly be distributed to those present.
The development came less than two weeks after the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Minna. The Federal Government has constituted an independent panel to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
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When contacted over Tuesday night’s incident, the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Bologi Ibrahim, said the state government would issue a statement in due course.
The Niger State Police Command spokesperson, SP Wasiu Abiodun, also said the command would verify the report and provide further information.
