Attendees of Afrobeats superstar Davido’s concert in Enugu have narrated harrowing experiences of theft, harassment, and poor crowd control that marred the event held at Michael Okpara Square on Saturday.
The Enugu leg of Davido’s “5ive Tour”, which attracted over 40,000 people to a venue with a 20,000 capacity, descended into chaos as security arrangements collapsed, allowing ticketless fans to breach the gates whilst valuables were stolen from concertgoers.
The tour, which commenced in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State on October 26 and continued in Yola, Adamawa State on October 29, is scheduled to conclude with performances in Ibadan on November 9 and Lagos on December 25.
Whilst previous stops reportedly proceeded smoothly, the Enugu concert drew widespread criticism as fans took to social media platforms TikTok and X to share distressing accounts of their ordeal.
A TikTok user, #adis_beautification, described how security broke down at the venue. “None of them were wearing the tag. Those without a ticket entered; the gate was broken, and the security guards weren’t at the gate,” she said.
“The security personnel did a terrible job. Touts entered. They used razor blades to tear bags. Unfortunately, my phone was stolen.”
Another attendee, #hairz_by_steph, alleged incidents of sexual harassment at the packed venue. “They were pressing girls’ breasts and buttocks. A guy behind me was rock-hard. I lost my nails; the crowd was too much. Everybody was just entering,” she said.
She added that the concert, scheduled to commence at 4pm, saw the headline act arrive around 3am—a nearly 12-hour delay that heightened frustration amongst attendees.
“Davido only arrived at 3am. People were entering without tags. A guy was walking around me, looking for something tangible to take from me. Security had to carry me out because the crowd was too much,” she recounted.
#Mmachukwu, another concertgoer, shared a detailed account of what she described as a “stampede-like situation” at the entrance. “The entrance was crazy. There were tasers, there were canes. People would just be going in, trying to pass through the gates, and all of a sudden, there would be a huge crowd pushing everyone backwards,” she said.
“Everyone would be falling down. If you look forward, you’ll see the security using one very long cane flogging everyone in his line of sight, and they were literally tasering people.”
She explained that security personnel eventually abandoned their posts. “When the security got tired, they just abandoned the gates. The way people were pushing, if I hadn’t held my sister, she would have fallen,” she said.
Inside the venue, conditions worsened as attendees struggled with heat and overcrowding.
“The heat and suffocation intensified; we had to move back towards the fence for air. That’s how people die in crowds. We stayed until about 2:30am, but the wait was not worth the risk,” she added.
TikTok user #reallifestories broke down in tears whilst recounting how all her belongings were stolen during the event.
“The wig I borrowed was stolen, my shoe, my other phone everything in my bag. It is even someone who took me to his car and gave me the clothes that he had and slippers,” she said.
“He told me to catch my breath and stop crying, and to go home when I was ready. It’s not fair.”
In a video shared by @desmondelvis, a thief was captured on camera snatching a phone from an attendee in real time.
Social media users condemned the event organisers for inadequate safety planning and crowd control measures.
“It’s 2025—there’s no excuse. Event organisers must start factoring in the safety and well-being of women at gatherings like this,” X user @Gidi_Traffic wrote in response to viral videos from the concert.
