In a deadly freak accident that occurred during a pandemonium in Rivers State, the Rivers State Police Command has confirmed the death of 31 persons in a stampede that occurred during a church program in Port Harcourt, the state capital, on Saturday.
The command also disclosed that those who were injured were “swiftly evacuated to the hospital for immediate medical treatment”.
According to the statement by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Grace Iringe Koko, preliminary investigations conducted by the command indicate that the “unfortunate incident occurred when the management of Kings Church Assembly organised a crusade which attracted mammoth crowd”.
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The church was meant to give out food items to the less privileged. The police said the crowd was “uncontrollable” and “all efforts made by the organisers to bring sanity proved abortive”.
The Commissioner of Police, Friday Eboka, while condemning the incident, has directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in Charge of the State Criminal Investigations Department to carry out discrete investigations into the incident.
He further called on religious and charity organizations to ensure they work with the police for security and crowd control management in organising their programmes in the future.
The commissioner also commiserated with the bereaved families and prayed to God to comfort and grant them the fortitude to bear the loss.
The Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari also expressed his “deep sadness” by the deaths in a stampede in a church event in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
A statement from a presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, on Saturday, said Mr Buhari is “deeply saddened” by the incident.
The statement said the president directed that “all efforts should be made to provide relief to those injured in the unfortunate incident”.
Mr Buhari also directed federal relief agencies to work with the Rivers State Government on the incident.
President Buhari, while expressing his condolences and that of the nation to the bereaved families and to the government and people of Rivers State, advised event organisers to plan and carry out their events in a “disciplined manner” to avoid such calamity.
The tragic incident occurred on a day the leading opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, is electing its presidential candidate in the nation’s capital, Abuja.
The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, who is a PDP presidential aspirant, is taking part in the Abuja event. This is not the first time Port Harcourt has witnessed such a deadly stampede.
