THE Rivers State Police Command has confirmed 31 persons dead in a stampede at the Kings Assembly Church located in the GRA axis of Port Harcourt, the state capital.
Seven other persons were injured in the incident.
The tragedy, which occurred in the morning of Saturday, May 28, 2022, reportedly resulted from a programme organised by the church where some gifts were to be shared with participants as part of the church’s fourth anniversary.
READ ALSO:
Scores Injured In Stampede At UNIBEN
Many Feared Dead In Anambra Stampede
NFF says CAF official died of cardiac arrest, not stampede
A report by the Punch said the event did not hold at the church but at the Polo Club in the state capital to accommodate a large congregation.
The congregants reportedly forced a small door at the venue open and rushed to occupy conspicuous positions, leading to the stampede.
The ICIR contacted one of the church’s officials, Charles Odoko, to seek the church’s reaction to the incident.
Odoko declined to comment.
He told the reporter to wait until the church issues a statement on it.
However, the spokesperson for the police in the state, Grace Woyengikuro Iringe-koko, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed the incident to The ICIR, including the number of casualties and the wounded.
Marcus bears the light, and he beams it everywhere. He's a good governance and decent society advocate. He's The ICIR Reporter of the Year 2022 and has been the organisation's News Editor since September 2023. Contact him via email @ [email protected]