At least eight people have been confirmed dead from a presidential rally held on Thursday in Taraba.
The stampede occurred at the rally due to what the presidency called overcrowding at the Jolly Nyame Stadium in the state capital, Jalingo.
Three people were initially thought to have died from the stampede. The presidency in a statement on Sunday, however, put the death toll at eight.
According to the statement by President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesperson, Femi Adesina, the president dispatched a team to Jalingo to condole with the government and people of the state over the deaths.
The team, led by Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), included Governor of Adamawa (a neighbouring state to Taraba) Mohammed Jibrilla (Bindow); a Borno senator, Ali Ndume; Mohammed Bello, Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT); Ali Pantami, Director-General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA); and Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity.
At the Taraba Government House, where the team was reportedly received by Governor Darius Ishaku, Mr Mustapha, speaking on behalf of the president, lamented the sad loss of eight people during and after the rally, promising that they would not die in vain.
“President Buhari will continue to focus on public good and welfare of the people. The eight people would then not have died in vain,” the SGF said.
