Four persons were feared dead, while many others were injured during scamble for Christmas palliatives on Tuesday morning at the Rumuodara community, a suburb of Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State.
It was learnt
that people in and around the community had in their thousands stormed an event
centre in the area where a non-governmental organization, was distributing
items to its members from Ikwerre, Emohua and Obio/Akpor Local Government Areas
of the state as early as 8 am.
Due to poor
crowd management and the surge of persons who were not invited, the situation
got out of control, leading to a stampede during which some persons fell and
were trampled upon while others sustained injuries.
It was also
gathered that the situation arouse because the organisation did not make any
arrangement for control and orderly conduct of the thousands of people it
invited for the event from three local government areas.
The Rivers
Police Command confirmed the incident, but said only two persons have so far
been confirmed dead in the stampede.
“I can
confirm the incident of this morning, at an Event centre, along the Rumuodara
axis of the East/West Road, Obio/Akpor LGA, where palliatives were being
distributed by a Non-Governmental Organisation to her registered members from
Ikwerre, Emohua and Obio/Akpor Local Government Areas, when suddenly there was
a stampede leading to the death of two people, while some sustained various
degrees of injuries and are currently receiving medical attention.
“Meanwhile
the situation is under control. The Commissioner of Police, CP Joseph G Mukan
has instituted immediate probe into the unfortunate incident with a view to
ascertaining the circumstances and bringing persons found culpable to Justice,”
Nnamdi Omoni, the police public relations officer said in a statement he issued
to journalists.
The event
resulted in several hours of traffic gridlock which trapped many motorists
during the morning rush hours of Tuesday.
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