Catholic Priest, Church Officials Arrested Over Palliative Stampede
The FCT Police Command has arrested the priest in charge of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama, Abuja, where 10 people lost their lives in a palliative stampede during a free food distribution on Saturday.
Confirming the arrest of the parish priest, Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, Catholic Archbishop of the Diocese of Abuja, said other church officials involved in the planning and execution of the ill-fated charity event have also been arrested and detained by security agencies.
The arrest of the priest and church officials follows an order from the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, calling for a thorough investigation into the week-long stamp rally in Abuja, Anambra, and Oyo states.
In his Christmas message on Wednesday, Archbishop Kaigama reacted to the arrest and detention of church officials, accusing “some agents of the government of verbally demonizing the Catholic Church in response to the tragedy at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama.”
According to the archbishop, the detention of priests and church officials and threats of criminal charges against the church “are, to say the least, unwilling, unkind, and misguided in their zeal, and one wonders to what end these were made.”
In a message titled “Christmas: a Season of Hope and Renewal,” Kaigama advised government officials to focus on “helping organizers and churches overcome trauma rather than exacerbating it through threats of arrest, detention, and criminal prosecution.
A church official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the arrested priests and officials will be detained and will spend Christmas behind bars.
