Abuja, Dec 21 (AP) Ten people, including four children, have been killed in a stampede in Nigeria's capital city as a large crowd gathered to collect food items distributed by a local church at a Christmas event, the police said Saturday.

The stampede occurred in the early morning hours at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama, a high-brow part of Abuja, from where more than 1,000 people have been evacuated, police spokesman Josephine Adeh said in a statement.

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It is the second such stampede in a week in Africa's most populous country as local organisations, churches and individuals are increasingly organising charity events ahead of Christmas amid the country's worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation. (AP)

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(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)