About five women and children have lost their lives in a failed bid to rush and collect clothes and cash that were being distributed to displaced people in Borno state.

As the items were being given, a large crowd surged forward and in the process, people were trampled under foot in the town of Gamboru, near the Cameroon border, a region hit by jihadist violence.

“Five dead bodies, four women and a little girl, were brought to the hospital along with seven injured,” a medical source said.

“We learned that (other) bodies were identified and claimed by relations from the scene,” the source added without specifying how many.

Meanwhile, Umar Kachalla, who heads a local anti-jihadist militia force, said, “There was a crush which led to the death of 12 women and children and left seven with severe injuries.”

Some of the dead were taken to hospital and others claimed at the site of the stampede, he added.
Thousands of women had gathered at a primary school for handouts of 5,000 nairas (13 dollars) and clothing supplied by Borno state governor Babagana Umara Zulum.

“There was a stampede as the distribution was about to start, in the morning,” said local resident Yahaya Bukar, who also counted 12 dead.

Gamboru, is a border town known for its trading, and has been repeatedly targeted by Boko Haram insurgents since August 2014 when the jihadists seized the town along with nearby Ngala.