By JOHN AMIEYEOFORI

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 the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt.

Iringe-Kok told NAN that the church, located in GRA in Rivers 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 that the event was held at the Port Harcourt Polo Club, a bigger facility to accommodate the anticipated crowd, including the underprivileged.

The PPRO stated that though the programme was billed to start by 9a.m., some of the participants arrived there before the time.

The command’s spokesman said that the church leadership was distributing the palliative to the participants before the time at the venue which led to the stampede.

She said the stamped must have occurred when the people who had gathered struggled to have items, resulting in the death of the 31 persons. (NAN)