By Frank Ulom
What was supposed to be an empowerment programme became a death sentence for Mary Christiana Ogar of Imaje Community in Yala Local Government Area of Cross River State.
Mary Ogar died in the stampede that broke out during Governor Bassey Otu’s wife’s empowerment programme at Bishop MacGetrick Institute of Technology (formerly Teachers’ Training College [TTC]), Ogoja, on Thursday, October 22, 2026.
One woman yet to be identified is severely injured and currently receiving treatment at the General Hospital, Ogoja. Others also sustained injuries in the stampede.
The Governor’s wife, Bishop Eyoanwan Otu, gathered women from Ogoja, Yala, Obudu, Bekwarra, and Obanliku, the five local governments that make up the Northern Senatorial District, for empowerment.
Our Reporter gathered that the relief items include minibuses, motorcycles, tricycles, deep freezers, sewing machines, hairdressing machines, bags of rice, etc. The incident occurred at about 3:30 p.m., during a scramble for empowerment items distributed at the programme.
According to sources, the empowerment was going smoothly until the sharing formula changed, and the crowd reportedly continued to grow as attendees sought to obtain empowerment items. “What did the organisers expect when five people were expected to share a single 25kg bag of rice in a community where many families are struggling to survive?” Micah Matthew queried.
Preliminary reports say two people died. However, the Cross River State Police Command confirmed that two women were severely injured and rushed to the hospital, in which one was later confirmed dead.
“Two women were rescued and taken to the General Hospital, Ogoja, for medical attention. One was subsequently pronounced dead by a medical doctor,” ASP Sunday Eitokpah, police spokesperson in the state, said in a press statement on Friday.
Eitokpah said the circumstances surrounding the stampede are being reviewed, stressing that, “Police and other security personnel responded to control the crowd and restore order. The Command is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the event.”
He said, “The deceased, identified as Mary Christiana Oga of Imaje, Yala Local Government Area, was pronounced dead at the General Hospital, Ogoja. The second woman remains under medical care. Her condition will be communicated when verified and appropriate for release.”
Eitokpah debunked the allegations that the police were the cause of the stampede, noting that, “Preliminary information indicates that the victims sustained their injuries before police personnel deployed tear gas to disperse the crowd and restore order. The circumstances do not, at this stage, establish that police action caused the casualties.”
The Commissioner of Police, Cross River State Command, CP Ajo Geoffrey Ordue, had commiserated with the family of the deceased and wished the surviving victim a speedy recovery.
“The Command is reviewing the sequence of events, the circumstances of the stampede and the crowd-control response. Members of the public are urged to remain calm and refrain from circulating unverified information as the review continues,” the statement added.
The incident has received criticism from Cross Riverians. Matthew said, “When people are hungry, vulnerable and desperate for support, an empowerment programme must be carefully planned, transparently organised and fairly distributed to avoid unnecessary conflict.
“Your Excellency, empowerment should bring relief, restore hope and improve lives, not create an atmosphere of desperation and rivalry over a bag of rice. The people of Cross River State deserve empowerment programmes that genuinely address their needs, not arrangements that leave many feeling excluded and neglected.
“Human lives are far more valuable than any bag of rice. The immediate priority must be to establish the facts, support those affected and prevent a recurrence.”
At the time of filing this report, the office of the Wife of the Governor of Cross River has yet to release a statement regarding the incident.
