At least four women were killed and one injured in a stampede as crowds gathered to collect cash handouts in northern Nigeria on Sunday, police told AFP.
Other sources gave a much higher toll, saying 17 people including children had been killed.
The deaths in Bauchi city come as Nigeria suffers the worst economic crisis in a generation, and just days after two students died in a crush for free bags of rice in Keffi, in the centre of the country.
Early in the morning, women and children gathered outside the office of a wealthy businessman in Bauchi city to receive 5,000 naira ($3.40) cash gifts to help pay for food during the Muslim holy month Ramadan.
Witnesses said members of the crowd pushed to get hold of the money, causing a stampede.
“We received a report from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital that five women were brought to the hospital in critical condition following a stampede…
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