Afri Hype

A club stampede that claimed the lives of two students occurred after a Nigerian DJ joked that all coach drivers were ready to leave the nightclub .

DJ David Osahon made the announcement with a 'comedy' accent inside the Lava & Ignite Nightclub in Northampton just moments before the students, Nabila Nanfuka, 22, and Laurene-Danielle Jackson, 19, found themselves caught up in a horrific stampede.



His announcement was one of 14 to occur in half an hour telling people to get on board their coaches.

The young women had spent the evening enjoying themselves at the club, but chaotic scenes unfolded following Mr Osahon's announcement that coach drivers outside were ready to leave at 3.30am, the inquest heard.

Yesterday he admitted making up the announcement.

An inquest heard panic spread as desperate revellers began trampling over each in a bid to escape leaving people "screaming, crying and moaning".

Nabila Nanfuka, a Northampton University leisure and tourism student from Neasden, north west London, was knocked down and crushed near to the exit.

Nabila

Miss Jackson, a Kingston University psychology and criminology student from Wembley, north London, was taken to the same hospital with critical injuries. She was transferred to Glenfield Hospital in Leicester where she died three weeks later.

Jackson

Giving evidence, David said: "It's just to motivate people to leave. I would say nobody was making a move towards the door. "There was just the same amount of people on the dance floor."


Asked whether this was sensible, he said he believed people would have known he was joking.

He added: "I'm well-known on the university scene, I put on an African accent as a comedic persona.

"I understood that people would see it as a joke and not something very, very serious."



Mr Osahon said he did not realise that, along with other DJs, 14 warnings telling people to get to their coaches were made in half an hour.


He also admitted seeing a crowd just outside the door but continued with the announcements as he was constantly being urged by promoters to make them.


He added: "I'm more mature and understanding now. I would do things more differently now."

Miss Jackson's cause of death was given as cerebral ischemia and traumatic asphyxia consistent with crush injuries.

Miss Nanfuka died from traumatic asphyxia consistent with crush injuries, said pathologist Stuart Hamilton

The 1,600-capacity venue - which opened in 1996 - had its licence suspended days after the tragedy.

It closed permanently in November 2011 after operator Luminar Leisure Limited recorded losses of £198 million and went bankrupt.