Church stampede claims 31 lives in Port Harcourt
Barth Ndubuwah, Port Harcourt
No fewer than 31 persons have been confirmed dead by the police in an early morning gathering of a church, Kings Assembly at Polo Club, on Saturday in Port Harcourt metropolis of Rivers State.
Scores were also said to have sustained injuries during the stampede.
According to a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Grace Iringe-Koko, preliminary investigations conducted by the Command revealed that the incident occured when the management of the church organised a crusade meant to give gift items to its members and the public, which attracted mammoth crowd that resulted to a stampede.
“There were plans by the church management to give away food and gift items to the less privilege.
“Unfortunately, the crowd became tumultuous and uncontrollable and all efforts made by the organisers to bring sanity proved abortive, hence the stampede,” the statement said.
The PPRO said on receipt of the information on the incident, the Commissioner of Police (CP), Friday Eboka, immediately drafted police patrol teams to the scene and they were able to restore normalcy.
Persons that were injured at the incident were said to have been evacuated to the Hospital for immediate medical treatment, while 31 persons lost their lives in the stampede.
“The situation has been brought under control and enough police presence has been put on ground to work with the Command’s safety management officers.
“The Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Command, CP Eboka Friday, while condemning the incident, has directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in-Charge of the State Criminal Investigation Department to carry out discrete investigations into the incident,” the statement read.
The CP further called on religious and charity organisations to ensure they work with the Police for security and crowd control management when organising their programmes in the future.
The CP equally commiserated with the bereaved families and prayed God to comfort and grant them the fortitude to bear the loss.
The PPRO could not ascertain if any arrest has been made on the matter as at the time of filing this report.
