Church stampede in Nigeria's capital leaves at least 10 killed

At least 10 people, including four children, were killed in a stampede during a relief item distribution at a local church in the Maitama district of Abuja, the Nigerian capital, on Saturday.

Spokesperson for the police in the Federal Capital Territory, said in a statement that eight others sustained varying degrees of injuries when the distribution of relief items, including food and clothing ahead of Christmas celebrations. 

In a separate statement, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu confirmed another stampede Saturday morning in Okija, a town in the southeastern state of Anambra, where a philanthropic initiative to distribute rice to locals also turned fatal.

Highlighting an earlier stampede in the southwestern city of Ibadan on Wednesday, which claimed at least 35 lives and left six critically injured, the Nigerian leader called on states and local authorities to implement strict crowd control measures nationwide.