ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Police say a stampede at a church charity event in southern Nigeria has left 31 people dead and seven injured. One witness said the dead included a pregnant woman and “many children.” Police said the stampede took place at an annual “Shop for Free” program organized by the Kings Assembly Pentecostal church in Rivers state. Such events are common in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, where more than 80 million people live in poverty. Police say Saturday’s charity program was supposed to begin at 9 a.m. but dozens arrived early and somehow the locked gate was broken open. Dozens of residents thronged the scene, mourning the dead. Doctors and emergency workers treated some of the injured as they lay in the open field.
Children among 31 killed at church fair stampede in Nigeria
