Woman dies in stampede while struggling for Gov.'s money gift

The rush to partake in the naira rain » from Governor
Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, turned into a
stampede which claimed the life of a 41-year-old food
seller, Mrs. Lizzy Effiong, who was trampled to death
by the crowd at the Mbiaobong Ikot Udofia Central
Market, in Ikono Local Government Area of the state.
According to reports, the governor, in continuation of his
state wide tour, had visited the local government and on
getting to the market, gave the market women the sum of
N1 million » and the women began scrambling for the free
money and Effiong, who had only gone to the market to buy
foodstuff, decided to partake of the free money but ended up
losing her life in the process.
According to her husband, Gabriel Dick Effiong, his wife only
went to the market to buy food items, but did not know how
she became involved with the governor's money.
Effiong said that when the governor arrived at the market, he
told the women that he was going to give them N1 million to
share among themselves and when he was leaving, the
money was handed over to the market leader, Madam
Edemawang Udo , and immediately Emmanuel left, all hell was
let loose as people struggled to get their hands on the
money.
"My wife was in the market to buy food items. When the
governor arrived at the market, he asked for the market leader
so that he could give them N1m to share among themselves.
Then Emmanuel handed the money over to the elderly woman
and instructed her to share it with the other women and then
left. So, the women themselves began to drag the elderly
woman to share the money, but from what I heard, there was
confusion all over the place.
So, the old woman was dragged here and there, and as I learnt,
I did not know how the money got into my wife's hand, before
men and other women ramped into her, pushed her into the
gutter and matched on her. And before anyone could realise
what had happened, she had gone into coma," the bereaved
husband narrated.
The leader of the market women also narrated her own side
of the story, saying she too was pushed into the gutter
where she sustained injuries.
"When the governor came, he sent for me and I abandoned
what I was doing and went to meet with him and he promised
to give me N1 million to share with other market women.
When he was leaving, he handed the money to me but a young
man who stood nearby, came to collect the money from me. A
policeman asked if he was my son, I said no.
So, immediately I took the money to my stall, other women ran
up to me to seize the money; and before you know, men selling
beef, overpowered all of us and collected the money.
I was trampled on and thrown into the gutter; and since then, I
have just come to the market. I've not seen a kobo of the
money the governor gave to us. I don't know if there was
anybody who suffered the way I did."