Police Confirms 2 Deaths From Lagos Church Stampede

Two people were killed in a stampede at a prayer service held at a church on Ewenla Street, off Ikotun-Idimu Road in Lagos.

A participant in the monthly prayer service held by Pastor Odekunle Epaphras Prayer Ministries, also known as Olorun Ojiji, said that the gathering frequently draws a sizable number of worshipers.

Detailing further, she said that the trouble started when the crowd waiting for the second service scrambled to enter the venue immediately after the first service ended, causing a stampede.

The Lagos State Command spokesman Benjamin Hundeyin confirmed the incident and said that five unconscious people were taken to the hospital near the scene of the stampede, out of which three were revived and two were later pronounced dead.

Other members assert that while the church initially held just one service in the large facility, it later increased the number of services to three as the congregation grew quickly.

Immediately taken into custody at the Ikotun Police Station, the host, Pastor Odekunle Epaphras, was later released on bail.