Many residents of Kwara State on Thursday expressed shock  over the death of some people who had gathered at the residence of a former governor of the state, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on Wednesday night.

The people had gathered at Saraki's residence at Ilofa Government Reservation Area Road popularly called PDP Charity House to receive Sallah gifts; but a stampede was said to have ensured. In the process, many people died while many others sustained injuries and were rushed to the hospital for treatment.

Reacting to the tragedy, a governorship aspirant of the Labour Party, Alhaji Abdulhakeem Amao and a leader of  the All Progressives Congress, Alhaji Bashiru Bolarinwa, expressed shock over the incident.

They also called on the Federal Government to probe the incident.

Amao called on all residents in the state to pray for Kwara State. "We  in Labour Party are very sad and feel bad about the whole thing. This thing occurs too often and there may be a lot behind it. I pray for Kwara State.

"There should be a probe of this matter. I really ask the Federal Govenrment to  probe this occurrence.  It is becoming too regular.

Bolarinwa said while it was necessary for the Federal Government to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident, it was also necessary for the residents to learn from the past.

"What is important is for our people to learn from what has been happening and to take precautions. If something had happened in the past and this is the third time it is happening, I think that is enough to teach the people lessons," he said.

Many of the relatives of the victims declined to speak with journalists over the incident.  Those who spoke and pleaded not to be named, said they had taken the tragedy in good faith.

According to them, the deaths  were sad and unfortunate. They, however, said that they had left the matter in the hands of  God.

There were many speculations about the number of dead victims.

As at Thursday afternoon, a source who claimed to have witnessed when the dead bodies were brought in at the Sobi Specialists Hospital, Ilorin claimed to have counted no fewer than 15 dead bodies being  deposited at the hospital's mortuary.