Police Confirm 31 Dead In PH Stampede

The Police Command in Rivers has confirmed the death of 31 persons in a stampede during an outreach programme organised by a new generation church, Kings Assembly, on Saturday in Port Harcourt.
The acting Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the incident to newsmen in Port Harcourt.
Iringe-Kok said the church, located in GRA in the State capital, had invited members of the public to an event where it would share some gift items to its members, including food stuffs.
She said the event was held at the Port Harcourt Polo Club, a bigger facility to accommodate the anticipated crowd, including the underprivileged.
The PPRO stated further that though the programme was billed to start by 9a.m., some of the participants arrived there before the time.
She said the leadership of he church was distributing the parliatives to the participants before the time at the venue which led to the stampede.
According to her, the stamped must have occurred when the people who had gathered struggled to have the items being shared, resulting in the death of the 31 persons.