I warned my wife against going for food distribution – Anambra husband

The husband of one of the victims of the stampede that occurred at Okija, in Anambra State on Saturday, identified as Uchenna Nwaudo, has lamented the loss of his wife in the incident, saying he had warned her not to attend the programme, but she did not need his advice.

No fewer than 22 persons died in a stampede that occurred at the gate of a charity event at the Obijackson Centre in Amanranta area of the community.

The victims, particularly middle-aged women, the elderly and children were stampeded upon as they struggled to gain entrance at the gate amid a very large crowd.

It was gathered that the centre was the venue of the sharing of 25kg bags of rice palliatives including vegetable oil and cash.

While speaking, Nwaudo lamented the loss of his wife in the incident, saying, “I am from Umuohi village in Okija. On the fateful day, I had warned my wife not to go to the rice-sharing venue because of our little baby who was not feeling fine. I asked my wife not to attend the event to look after the boy.

“But I was at the place of my business at Ihiala junction when I was called to rush to Amaranta, venue of the palliatives sharing, that there was a heavy stampede and my wife was trampled upon and that she had just slumped on the floor. I expressed surprise as I had already warned her not to attend.

“But when I got there, to my surprise, I met her lifeless body and my baby still strapped on her back while everywhere was rowdy and everybody scampering to safety. I looked and observed that the baby was still alive. What I did was remove the baby from her back and leave the scene.”

He said he could not even carry her lifeless body as everywhere was still very rowdy noting that it was by the grace of God that he managed to escape the scene. “Even my mobile phone and her handbag were nowhere to be found,” he added.

“It was later that I learnt that the lifeless body was taken to the mortuary by the ambulance provided by the organisers of the event. I went to the mortuary at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Ihiala, to see the lifeless body. I have consulted with members of the family and we are making arrangements to go and pick up the corpse for proper burial.

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“It was an unfortunate situation. I won’t blame the organisers of the event, because it is a gesture they have been doing over the years as a way of helping the members of the community to put a smile on their faces during Yuletide. But this one turned out to be like this.

“It was impatience on the part of the people and poor crowd control that contributed to the incident. I learnt that the security operatives battled to control the surging crowd who forced entry into the premises.

It was also observed at the scene that many shoes, slippers, handbags and some other belongings of the victims were still littered on the floor in front of the gate.

A relative of one of the victims, Uju Udoka, said, “I lost a sister, who was a nursing mother to the incident. She left her baby to quickly go and share the palliatives. Unfortunately, she ended up not coming back home. It is something that the community has been benefiting from the foundation every year. It’s unfortunate that this year’s edition turned out to be like this due to impatience.

“Some people were fortunate to enter the venue without any problem and they benefitted from the rice shared. Despite what happened, some people still benefitted.”

An eyewitness identified as Nnamdi Uzor, said those who collapsed were rushed to nearby hospitals, and at the hospitals, those confirmed dead were deposited at the morgue, adding that two morgues were filled up and at a point stopped accepting more corpses.

Uzor said, “The stampede occurred in the morning of the sharing as the gate of the arena was about to be opened because many struggled to gain entrance. Many people, particularly the aged and children were trampled upon and many collapsed and critically injured while some died before being rushed to the hospital.

“I saw a woman that lay lifeless on the floor with her baby strapped on her back. Fortunately, the child was still alive, but when the husband came, he picked the child from the back of his wife and immediately left the scene.”

One of the survivors receiving treatment at the hospital visited, who identified herself simply as Ngozi, said, “I thank God that I survived the situation. I cannot tell what happened, all I can remember was that there were too many people at the entrance of the venue and as the security people were about to open the gate, people started rushing and pushing one another.

“And when the gate was eventually opened, people started running and in the process, so many people fell and as a result, people coming behind started trampling upon one another. Someone pushed me, and I also fell to the floor. Before I knew what was happening, I felt a heavy load on my body as so many people fell on me.

“As people were falling on me, I was gasping for breath and shouting, other people in similar circumstances were also shouting. There was noise everywhere. I urinated on my body. It was not a palatable experience, it was as if a trailer of container fell on me.

“I became unconscious and when I opened my eyes, I found myself at the hospital. I don’t know how I managed to survive. I give God the glory. I lost my mobile set and my handbag containing some money in the process, but that is not my concern now as I am happy to be alive.

“What happened was not the fault of the organisers. People were just impatient and in the process, it led to what happened.”

The president-General, Okija Progressives Union, Dr Paul Isioma Ohaguim, described the scene as “very unfortunate”, adding that the community received the news with rude shock.

Ohaguim stated that the actual casualty figure has not been ascertained, saying the information so far gathered had different figures.