By Khalid Idris Doya
The Emir of Bauchi, Dr. Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu has commiserated with families of victims of Zakkat scramble victims in Bauchi in which (8) persons reportedly lost their lives in the incident.
Speaking when delegates from Abdulmumini Educational Foundation, a subsidiary of the AYM Shafa Holdings Limited paid a fatherly condolence visit to the palace, the emir said that himself visited the scene of the incident to catch a glimpse of the situation.
The emir explained that death is an evictable end which every living creature must taste it, as ordained by God at the terminal day and time, and prayed for the repose of souls of the deceased in Jannatul Firdaus.
Dr. Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu then commended the founder of the chairiman of Abdulmumini Foundation for exercising the obligatory duty, and implored upon him for not allow the ugly incident deter or change his mind against the religious obligation.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after the visit, the Abdulmuminu Zakkat Distribution Committee Chairman, Professor Ahmed Mohammed Set’le has said that he was lucky Sunday not to have join the assemblage of the departed souls when the zakkat giving out exercise turned into an uncontrollable crowd.
The professor said, “I myself, I was so lucky not to have join them because I was pressed-up on the building’s gate iron bar, with my shirt scattered all over the iron bar”.
“What actually happened was the people that came whom we did not invite them. It is a yearly event that we normally give out some money to the less-privileged people”.
He positioned, “They envisaged that we are doing it Sunday, yesterday, so they came in their number. We have security corporate people, the police that take care of security, but because of the high number that came, they were not able to control the crowd”, Prof. Mohammed said.
Mohammed, who is a professor of animal science with the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) Bauchi added, “The individual vulnerable people, each in an effort to get the zakkat rush while others are already sitting on the door to the inside premises”.
“So those struggling to fastly get the money stampede over those sitting on the door, and unfortunately we have some of them that were unconscious who were later confirmed dead in the hospital. I myself, I was so lucky not to join them because I was pressed on the gate iron bar”.
He however debunked the claim that even last year there were some injuries during the zakkat distribution, saying “I was around last year during the exercise and there wasn’t a single injury, so whoever says so is a lie”.
Professor assured that they went round to console families of the stampede victims, saying “We were also pain as they are.”
“Unfortunately, when we started the distribution, I think we have gone two and a half hours into the programme when we have a serious push that we would not be able to contain, and we have to suspend the exercise, which help in controlling further casualties”, he concluded.
