20 Persons Confirmed Dead in Stampede as Church Members Scramble For Food in Rivers

At least 20 persons have been confirmed dead following a stampede at the Polo Club in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The victims were attendees of a church programme organized by ‘Kings Assembly’, a new generational church.

While the church is originally located in the GRA axis of the state capital, the the programme was set for the Polo Club to accommodate a larger congregation.

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The large turnout follows the announcement of distribution of food items by church to commiserate its fourth anniversary.

According to a source who spoke under anonymity, some of the invitees started arriving the venue since Friday evening, while others arrived as early as 6.30am on Saturday morning for the event billed to start by 9am.

A rush by the members led to the pulling down of a small gate at the Polo Club, and leaving several persons dead.

“As I speak with you, I have counted 21 corpse at the military hospital. I heard some were taken to a different facility.

“This is not the first time the church is holding this programme, but the crowd since yesterday (Friday) till this morning is much.

“It was said that gift items and free food would be served. It is very painful,” the source said.

The source said most of the victims were rushed to the nearby military hospital in Port Harcourt

Acting spokesperson of Rivers Sate Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, also confirmed the incident.

“I am doing a press statement on the incident. It would be released soon,” she told PUNCH.