ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Stampedes during three Christmas charity events across Nigeria have left at least 67 people dead in the past week, many of them children. Families are struggling during the country's worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.
At least 35 children were killed in southwestern Oyo state on Wednesday. And on Saturday, 22 people died in southeastern Anambra state while 10 died in the capital, Abuja, where more than 1,000 people had gathered at a church to receive clothes and food.
Here's why people in Africa's most populous country are risking their lives for holiday donations.
“There is hunger in this Nigeria. Every Nigerian needs food,” one woman, in tears, told the local Arise television after the stampede in Abuja.
The economic crisis is blamed on the government’s policies to save money and attract investors, which have contributed to pushing the inflation rate to a 28-year high of 34.6%. Meanwhile the naira currency languishes at record lows against the dollar.
At least 63% of Nigeria's more than 210 million people population is poor, according to the government's statistics office. The government has struggled to create jobs. And when people gather to protest hardship, security forces are quick to clamp down. In August, more than 20 people were shot dead by security forces during nationwide protests.
“The average Nigerian has seen food go out of their reach,” said Cheta Nwanze, managing partner at the Lagos-based SBM Intelligence research firm. In 2022, the firm found that about 97% of Nigerians spend up to 63% of their income on food, but that share must have grown since then, he said.
Some of those who died in Abuja had waited overnight outside the church in cold weather for the chance to enter early, according to Loveth Inyang, a witness who rescued a baby from the crush.
Deadly stampedes are not new in Nigeria and are often caused by lack of adherence to public safety measures. But analysts say people's desperation to survive is making crowd control more difficult.
Accounts from witnesses and police in Abuja and Anambra showed that the stampedes occurred before the events started as people tried to secure prime positions.
In Abuja, the church was forced to cancel the event, leaving bags of rice and clothing items inside.
Organizers of such charity events often do not consider security a priority, said Ademola Adetuberu, who runs the Abuja-based Barricade Executive Protection security firm.
Meanwhile, the number of events is increasing as philanthropists and organizations try to meet the growing demand for food.
“If organizers of such events brainstorm more, get professionals to advise them and have a budget for security, this can be prevented,” Adetuberu said.
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has asked authorities to no longer tolerate “operational lapses” by organizers of such events, while police have made it mandatory for organizers to get prior permission before hosting them.
But such commitments are not new and usually difficult to enforce, analysts said.
“People’s incomes have been squeezed through the entire year. When they hear somewhere that food is being distributed, their natural instinct is to go," Nwanze said. “Add this to our notoriously poor queue culture and you have the perfect storm that will lead to such a stampede.”
Cars drive past Christmas decorations on a street in Lagos, Nigeria, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
A man rides a motorcycle taxi past Christmas decorations on a street in Lagos, Nigeria, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
Manchester United was beaten 3-0 at home by Bournemouth for the second straight season in the Premier League to continue Ruben Amorim's turbulent start at Old Trafford, while title-chasing Chelsea was held to a 0-0 draw at Everton on Sunday.
The optimism that might have been generated by a last-gasp 2-1 derby win at Manchester City last weekend has disappeared for United, which lost 4-3 at Tottenham in the English League Cup quarterfinals on Thursday before being handed a defeat to Bournemouth by the same score as 12 months ago.
Dean Huijsen, Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo scored for the visitors from the south coast as they climbed to fifth place in the standings, dropping Man City — the beleaguered defending champion — to seventh place after 16 games.
Since drawing Amorim's first match in charge — at Ipswich on Nov. 24 — United has won four and lost four in all competitions under the Portuguese coach, who left out Marcus Rashford for the third straight match. United sits in 13th place and will be in the bottom half of standings at Christmas for the first time since the 1989-90 season.
Chelsea could have climbed above Liverpool into first place — for a couple of hours at least — with a win at Everton.
However, a 0-0 draw ended the team's eight-match winning run in all competitions and meant Liverpool could push four points clear by beating Tottenham later Sunday.
Nicolas Jackson headed against the post for Chelsea in the first half.
Everton also held Arsenal 0-0 last weekend and faces Man City next.
Vitor Pereira got off to a great start as Wolverhampton manager, with his new team beating Leicester 3-0 in his first match in charge.
Pereira took charge on Thursday as the replacement for Gary O'Neil and immediately ended Wolves' four-game losing run as Gonçalo Guedes, Rodrigo Gomes and Matheus Cunha scored first-half goals at King Power Stadium.
It handed Leicester manager Ruud van Nistelrooy a second straight big loss early in his reign, after a 4-0 defeat at Newcastle last weekend.
Another recently hired Premier League manager, Ivan Juric, began life at Southampton with a 0-0 draw at Fulham.
Juric wasn't in charge of the team because he doesn't have a work permit. He was sitting in the stands for the match instead.
Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
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Wolverhampton Wanderers' Goncalo Guedes celebrates scoring his side's first goal of the game with teammates, during the English Premier League soccer match between Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers at King Power Stadium, in Leicester, England, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)
Everton's Ashley Young, left, and Chelsea's Axel Disasi battle for the ball during the English Premier League match soccer match between Everton and Chelsea, at Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, Sunday Dec. 22, 2024. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson (right) battle for the ball during the English Premier League match soccer match between Everton and Chelsea, at Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, Sunday Dec. 22, 2024. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
Manchester United's head coach Ruben Amorim claps his hands before the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Bournemouth at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Manchester United's Tyrell Malacia argues with line referee Akil Howson after a foul on Bournemouth's Adam Smith during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Bournemouth at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Bournemouth's Dean Huijsen celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Bournemouth at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho is dejected after missing an opportunity to score during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Bournemouth at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
