Deadly stampede at Nigerian parish caused by ‘empathy’ for poor, says archbishop

Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama called for collaborative effort with the government to “address the underlying issues that led to this sad event”.

A Nigerian archbishop insisted that a deadly stampede in a parish was the result of “empathy”, not negligence.

Thousands of people attended a food distribution programme run by the Society of St Vincent de Paul at the Holy Trinity Catholic Parish in Maitama, in the Archdiocese of Abuja, on 21 December. The crowd turned into a stampede in which 10 people died.

In his homily at a Mass for the victims on 12 January, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja claimed that the stampede was a result of “empathy” and not of negligence, as the Nigerian authorities had alleged.

The archbishop said the distribution exercise witnessed “an unprecedented turnout”, with about 5,000 people jostling to collect food. He said such desperation was symptomatic of the “heightened economic hardship affecting many families in the country”.

This created pressure and panic, said Kaigama, leading to a struggle as individuals scrambled to gain entry through the church gate, which resulted in the fatalities and injuries.

The archbishop praised parishioners of the Holy Trinity Maitama for their decades of empathy, providing food for the poor and the hungry: “Your inspiration to serve the poor and the vulnerable comes from St Vincent de Paul, who founded in 1833 your society which cares for the poor and the needy in an admirable manner.”

He asserted that “no one should be allowed to die a needless death just struggling for what to eat”, condemning Nigeria’s systemic failure to provide basic necessities to its citizens. He said the poverty this created robs people of their dignity.

“Nigeria must learn to use available resources without corruption to save the lives of citizens even if it is one person,” Kaigama said. “We hope that the government will collaborate with the Catholic Church to look after the poor, the starving, the socially deprived, and others. We should be speaking the language of collaboration rather than blame”.

He said the Church had always been “a place of refuge and support” for those in need, and called for collaborative effort with the Nigerian government to “address the underlying issues that led to this sad event”.

“Our government must do all that is possible so that no one dies of hunger or other artificial causes.”

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