Prayer ground tragedy: 28 die, 200 injured in stampede *Gov, aides in attendance Tragedy struck in Anambra State, on Saturday morning, as over 28 worshipers reportedly died of exhaustion and stampede with over 200 injured at a prayer centre in Ukeh, Idemili North Local Government Area of the state. Sunday Tribune gathered that the incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday, at the end of the monthly Friday all-night prayers, held at the Holy Ghost Adoration Catholic Prayer Ministry, Ukeh. The church is said to belong to Reverend Fr. Emmanuel Obinna, also known as Fr. Ebebe Muonso. The state governor, Mr Peter Obi, accompanied by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Willie Obiano, was said to have visited the church and addressed the congregation before the incident. But a victim, who lost his wife to the incident and identified himself as Emeka Ilodiuba, said the governor and his entourage had left the ground before the stampede occurred. Obi, while addressing crowds of sympathisers at Crown, Nkpor, Immaculate Heart and Boromew hospitals, expressed shock at the incident and prayed to God to grant the families of the dead the fortitude to bear the loss. He said the incident was caused by a stampede, saying that further investigations would be conducted to ascertain the true cause of the incident. He also promised to upgrade the Crown Hospital, Nkpor, in line with the commitment of his administration to partner with private hospitals to improve heath sector in the state. While some eye witnesses attributed the incident to an unprecedented crowd at the prayer ground, which trooped out en masse to the prayer ground of the church to seek the face of God, other eyewitnesses said the large turnout could be as a result of the importance accorded every November 1st, which is All Saints Day in Catholic calendar. According to eye witnesses, the governor, while addressing the worshipers earlier before the incident, promised to sponsor 20 persons to pilgrimage in Israel and promised them a better place of worship. Attendance at last Fridays all-night prayer was the highest. I have not seen the type of crowd I saw on Friday since the history of this ministry. Maybe it was because it was All Saints Day, which Catholics regard as holiday of obligation, many people didnt open their shops and that was why the crowd was that much. So, it is possible that the cause of these deaths was a stampede and exhaustion which occurred when people started struggling to find their ways, so these people might have died under such circumstance, an eyewitness, who spoke on a condition of anonymity, said. Ilodiuba, who lost his wife to the incident spoke to Sunday Tribune amidst tears, noting that he and his wife had come out of the prayer ground through the crowded place to where they parked their vehicle when suddenly they heard shouting everywhere and people started scampering for safety. He said his wife fell and never survived the stampede. I am from Nnokwa in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, I came to Ebube Muonso with my wife and when the prayer ended around 5.30a.m., we stood up to find our way home. By that time, the governor and his entourage had left, but when we got to the entrance, there was unprecedented crowd trying to find their way out of the prayer ground, the crowd surged forward and that was when my wife fell down and people fell on top of her till she died, he said sobbing. He also revealed that Governor Obi had left before the incident occurred, maintaining that the presence of Obi and Obiano at the prayer ground had nothing to do with the incident, but called on security agencies in the state to thoroughly investigate the major cause of the stampede that claimed the lives of the innocent worshipers. Governor Obi, who said he cancelled all his previous engagements to assess the level of casualties, described the incident as a national calamity that took the entire state by surprise. I was officially invited by the spiritual director of the Adoration Church; I went and addressed the people, part of the thing I told them was that we were not playing politics in the church. I left by 3.30a.m. I went in company of about 10 persons, mainly my siblings. I am depressed, confused and sad at the development, he said. The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of C Department, Mr Kachi Udorji, who led other top police officers to the prayer ground and later to Crown hospital, expressed rude shock over the incident and said investigations would continue to unravel the cause of the incident. Mr Udorji, who later took other top officers including other DIGs and AIGs to the Onitsha Area Command f Nigeria Police, confirmed the figure of the casualties and urged the police officers to work hard to get to the root of the incident. Sunday Tribune saw the Spiritual Director of the church, Reverend Fr. Emmanuel Obinma, who rushed to Boromew hospital, looked ruffled and was being consoled by Governor Obi and other Reverend Fathers present. Over 17 persons were confirmed dead at the Immaculate Heart hospital, Nkpor, while nine persons were also confirmed dead at Boromew, while the whereabouts of another three persons are still unknown as of the time of filing this report.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 05:33:52 +0000
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