The Catholic Church has reacted to insinuations that the December 21 2024 food-sharing stampede at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Maitama, Abuja, in which 10 people lost their lives, was an act of negligence bordering on lack of preparations, insisting that the unfortunate incident was a result of the “heightened economic hardship affecting many families in Nigeria.
Speaking at a special holy mass in honour of the dead and injured victims of the stampede at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Maitama, Abuja, on Sunday – yesterday, January 12 – Archbishop of Abuja Catholic Archdiocese, Ignatius Kaigama, who made reference to seamless distributions of similar palliatives at many Catholic parishes in the FCT in previous years said:
“Unfortunately, the distribution at Holy Trinity Maitama in 2024, witnessed an unprecedented turnout of about 5,000 needy and vulnerable individuals, perhaps, due to the heightened economic hardship affecting many families in the country.
“The large crowd outside the church premises created pressure and panic that led to struggle as individuals scrambled to gain entry through the church gate which resulted in the fatalities and injuries. No one should be allowed to die a needless death just struggling for what to eat,” he said.
The Archbishop said that some lessons have been learnt, and going forward, such intervention will be done differently to ensure there is no repeat of the ugly December 21, 2024 experience.
“We must realize that this unexpected incident underscores the need for enhanced crowd control measures. Going forward, there will be an opportunity to pre-register interested persons in order to prevent a similar occurrence; in addition to sensitization on orderly conduct before and during distributions to help minimize panic.
“While we mourn the loss of lives, we remain steadfast in our commitment to serve the poor and vulnerable, and we will work to ensure such incidents are avoided in the future,” Archbishop Kaigama said.
He challenged the government at all levels to collaborate with the Catholic Church to look after the poor, the starved, the socially deprived, and others, saying, “We should be speaking the language of collaboration rather than blame.”
“The Church has always been a place of refuge and support, and we need to work with the concerned government agencies to address the underlying issues that led to this sad event. It is on record that countries such as Germany, the US, UK, Ireland, and others empower the Catholic Church and other faith-based organizations to provide for the poor.
“Our Government must do all that is possible so that no one dies of hunger or other artificial causes. Nigeria must learn to use available resources without corruption to save the lives of citizens even if it is one person.”
He commended the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Maitama, Abuja, for constantly caring for the poor through the platform of St. Vincent de Paul, which, for years, has championed the cause of the poor.
He added: “I won’t hesitate to declare the Parish priest of Holy Trinity Maitama, Fr. Moses Jimbili, the President of St. Vincent de Paul of Maitama Parish, Ms Juliet Onwuemelia, and all the compassionate members of St. Vincent de Paul in Abuja Archdiocese as our heroes and heroines of 2024, for their selfless roles in feeding and caring for the poor.”
