You want a list? It will include terrorism, deadly illnesses, indiscriminate killing of innocent citizens, jungle justice, killing influenced by religion or by tribalism…there are others. The latest, albeit surprising, is a stampede.

The Rivers Police Command has said a whopping 31 Nigerian citizens died during a stampede at the venue of an outreach programme put together by a new generation church in Port Harcourt on Saturday morning.

The church, The Kings Assembly was said to have invited members of the public to partake in the event and promised that gift items and food would be served.

They only wanted to be fed, but met another fate.

The acting spokesperson of the State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the 31 deaths, saying the church had organised the outreach to give out palliatives to the underprivileged before the unexpected occured.

“It is 31 persons that died. It was a stampede because a church was trying to give out palliatives.

“They were about to start the event. It was to start by 9 am or so. But some persons went there, broke into the place and went inside.

“So people started rushing in and a stampede happened.

“From the information we have, the church was trying to gift items and food to assist the underprivileged.

“Meanwhile, investigation has commenced to ascertain the remote and immediate causes of the incident,” Iringe-Koko, a Superintendent of Police stated.

Some of the invitees were said to have arrived since Friday while others came as early as 6.30 am on Saturday for an event scheduled for 9 am.

Is this death because of poverty? Inexplicable, you will say, but issues like proper organisation have to be raised to ascertain who should he held accountable for such a disaster.

It will not surprise anyone that all that would be done is to close the church and it ends with that.

People need to be held accountable!