Stampede kills 3 in Synagogue church

Three worshippers have died at the Synagogue Church of all Nations, Ikotun, Lagos state

They died due to a stampede on the church’s premises on Saturday, December 10

The victims were part of the crowd struggling to see Prophet Temitope Joshua

A report by The Punch indicates that three worshippers have died at the Synagogue Church of all Nations, Ikotun, Lagos state.

Prophet TB Joshua, General Overseer of the Synagogue Church

According to the report, the victims died due to a stampede on the church’s premises on Saturday, December 10 while struggling to see the church’s general overseer, Prophet Temitope Joshua.

Two of the victims were identified as Emeka Okonkwo and Emmanuel Oherin, wehile the third victim had yet to be identified as at the time of the report.

Their corpses have since been deposited in a mortuary.

An eyewitness, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the stampede occurred around 4.30am.

His words: “It was the church’s annual deliverance and healing programme. Usually at this time, the church becomes a beehive of activities as people come in their thousands to see the prophet for miracles.

“People lodge in different hotels surrounding the church. And they all arrive at the church very early.

“There is a canopy on the premises where worshippers are screened before they see the man of God.

“However, on Saturday, after being screened, the crowd was much and they started struggling through the doorway to see the prophet. In the process, three people collapsed. They were rushed to the Isolo General Hospital, where they were confirmed dead.”

Another source quoted in the report stated that two of the victims were identified through their phones, while the third victim did not have any means of identification

“Their families were immediately contacted and they identified them. The police from the Ikotun division were also contacted,” the source said.

The police public relations officer, Dolapo Badmos, however, confirmed the incident, adding that investigations were ongoing.

“The story is true. Investigation is ongoing as we await the result of the autopsy. For now, we are treating the case as sudden and unnatural deaths,” she said. 

The incident happened barely 24 hours after Reigners Bible Church, located along Uyo Village road, collapsed in Akwa Ibom state killing up to 200 people.