At least three people have died while several others sustained injuries following a stampede at the Niger State Government House in Minna.
The incident reportedly occurred on Tuesday night after a large crowd gathered at the Government House. Those injured are currently receiving treatment at the General Hospital in Minna.
The gathering was said to have followed efforts by government officials to engage youths who were reportedly planning a protest over the recent deaths of 37 artisanal miners in the state.
Among those confirmed dead were a woman identified as Dije and her daughter, Hurairat, both internally displaced persons from Allawa community in Shiroro Local Government Area.
Hurairat’s husband, Abubakar, was reportedly killed by bandits in 2023 along the Allawa-Pandogari Road. Following repeated attacks that forced residents to flee the community, Hurairat relocated to Minna as an IDP.
Sources said Dije, who was living with her husband in Gurmana, had visited her daughter when they heard that money would be distributed at the Government House. The two reportedly joined the crowd that gathered at the venue.
An IDP, Mallam Musa Allawa, told journalists that the mother and daughter would be buried on Wednesday morning.
Earlier, some government appointees had posted on social media that youths gathered at the Government House to express solidarity with Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago.
However, a government source said the crowd grew after people, including women, heard that the governor would distribute N10,000 to those present.
When contacted, the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Bologi Ibrahim, said the state government would issue an official statement on the incident.
The spokesperson for the Niger State Police Command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, also said he would verify the report and provide further details.