A senior Catholic priest and several church officials have been arrested in connection with the tragic stampede that claimed 10 lives during a free food distribution event at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama, Abuja.
The arrests were made on Christmas Eve, and the detained individuals are likely to spend the holiday behind bars, according to a top Catholic Church leader.
The arrests follow demands by the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) for the apprehension of those responsible for the Abuja incident and a similar tragedy in Okija, Anambra State, where 22 people died at a billionaire businessman’s house during a charity event. MURIC had called for the release of organizers of a comparable event in Ibadan, Oyo State, who were remanded in prison custody, arguing that the Abuja and Anambra incidents should be treated similarly.
Inspector General of Police, Dr. Kayode Egbetokun, had ordered an investigation into the Abuja and Anambra tragedies. In response to the arrests, Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Diocese, Most Rev Ignatius Kaigama, condemned what he termed “verbal demonization of the Catholic Church” by some government agents. In his Christmas message titled “Christmas: A Season of Hope and Renewal,” Archbishop Kaigama criticized the detention and threatened criminal charges against the church, describing the actions as “uninspiring, unfriendly, and a misplaced zeal.”
The Archbishop argued that government officials should have focused on assisting the organizers and the church in overcoming the trauma of the incident rather than exacerbating it through arrests, detentions, and threats of prosecution. The tragedy has cast a shadow over the Christmas celebrations in Abuja, with the affected families and the Catholic community grappling with the loss of lives and the aftermath of the stampede.
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