King’s Assembly, the church, whose Saturday outreach programme caused a stampede that killed 31 persons in Polo Club, Port Harcourt, Rivers State at the weekend, has regretted the disaster.

The church, however, on Sunday held only one service instead of its usual three worship sessions.

A member of the church, who spoke in confidence, said the pastor was in attendance but could not teach the congregation.

She said: “Our service was not a normal one. It was only one service instead of the three we normally have every Sunday. We only sang and prayed. We also observed a moment of silence for those, who lost their lives”.

The church, earlier in a statement, by its Director of Administration, Chimeka Elem, said the stampede happened in the early hours before the commencement of its “benevolent and outreach programme called Shop-for-Free”.

Elem described the programme as nondenominational and said its purpose was to share with the less privileged the gifts provided by members of the church, friends and partners.

He said: “Unfortunately, lives were lost and several people sustained varying degrees of injuries”.

Elem said the medical team of the church was working with medical volunteers and the military hospital in Port Harcourt to provide emergency medical services to persons affected in the incident.

He said: “While the incident had been reported to the Nigerian Police Force, the church has commissioned a team of safety specialists to establish the immediate causes of the stampede to enable us provide the authorities all required information in compliance with public safety laws.

“The King’s Assembly is a safety conscious organisation and will always take the safety of our congregation seriously”.

Explaining the origin, Elem said: “Our Shop-for-Free programme was started in 2014 as our annual benevolent outreach and our choice of the large venue, Polo Club, was to accommodate the projected attendance.

“This year’s turnout, buildup and the attendant circumstances were absolutely unanticipated. The crowd converged overnight long before the security team for the event took formation”. (The Nation)

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