Cash disbursement in Bama LGA of Borno State has reportedly culminated in the death of three persons as well as 21 others being injured in an ensuing stampede.
Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication focused on the Lake Chad region, said the humanitarian exercise was organised by the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) and the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The publication disclosed that the stampede occurred at about 8:00am on Thursday at Kasugula Primary School, one of the designated payment centres in the LGA.
Makama noted that the beneficiaries had gathered to receive flat-rate cash assistance of N28,500, before the crowd went out of control and surged toward the school gate, resulting in a stampede.
The publication identified those who sustained varying degrees of injuries to include Falmata Modu, Tella Tujani, Bulama Yakime, Amina Mohammed, Mallam Akura, Fatima Bukar, Yagana Ibrahim, Fatima Mohammed, Fatima Abatcha, Zara Lawan, Inde Modu, and Aisha Abdullahi.
Makama said one of the deceased, identified as 60-year-old Bukar Labddo of Bukar Tela ward, was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital, while the other two died later while undergoing treatment.
The publication said order has been restored to the area following the deployment of security operatives to the scene, adding that the bodies of the deceased had been released to their families for burial.
