A tragic stampede during an almsgiving exercise at Shafa Holdings Company Plc on Jos Road in Bauchi State has resulted in the loss of no fewer than seven lives.

The incident unfolded at the headquarters of Shafa Holdings Company Plc along Jos Road around 10 a.m. on Sunday during the company’s annual Zakat exercise, aimed at assisting the less privileged in the state.

According to Ahmed Wakili, the Bauchi State Police Public Relations Officer, the situation has been stabilized following the stampede.

Wakili explained, “The command received a distress call around 10:20 a.m. from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital Bauchi, reporting that five people were brought to the hospital unconscious due to the stampede, a call made by a Good Samaritan. Upon receiving the call, the Commissioner of Police, Musa Mohammed, directed the area commander to the scene of the crime.”

“We have cordoned off the place and evacuated those injured to the hospital. In the process, five people were in the hospital, but four were confirmed dead by medical doctors. The exercise is a Zakat exercise that was given to the less privileged by Shafa Holding Company along Jos Road; that is the major cause of the stampede.”

Providing an update on the incident, Wakili stated that three additional women had lost their lives.

He revealed that two women died at the Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, while the third woman passed away at home.

The deceased have been identified as Aisha Usman, 13 years old; Sahura Abubakar, 55 years old; Aisha Ibrahim Abubakar, 43 years old; Kobi Street, Bauchi; Khadija Isah, 8 years old; Karofi, Bauchi; Maryam Suleiman, 20 years old, of Kandahar, Bauchi; Maryam Shuibu, 16 years old, of Gwang Gwan Gwan, Bauchi; and Hassana Saidu, 53 years old, of Dutsen Tanshi, Bauchi.