PH Polo Field Stampede: Police, NEMA Give Conflicting Figures

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Rivers State Command of the Nigeria Police Force have given conflicting final figures of the casualties recorded in the May 28, 2022 stampede that occurred at the Port Harcourt Polo Club field.
While NEMA said a total of 39 people died, the police said the final figure is 34. The South-South Zonal coordinator of NEMA, Mr. Godwin Tepikor, said 30 of the deceased victims were female while nine were male.
Families of the deceased persons have however lamented the stringent requirements placed before them before they can collect the corpses of their family members for burial.
The NEMA coordinator, who spoke while presenting relief materials to families of the victims at Kings Assembly Church, Port Harcourt, said 10 lucky people who suffered injuries were treated and discharged.
But the Rivers State public relations officer, PPRO Grace Iringe-Koko, told National Point that the total figure is 34. When reminded of the figures given by NEMA, she said, “Maybe, they added the injured and discharged from the hospital.” NEMA said 10 persons were injured but survived.
Iringe-Koko however declined giving further details of the casualty figures and the findings of police investigations on the stampede. She said the forensic result had been sent to Force Headquarters for analysis and they are not for public consumption for now.
The NEMA zonal coordinator, who represented the director general of the agency, Mr. Mustapha Ahmed, broke down the details of the relief materials as follows: 1,000 bags of 10kg rice, 20 cartons of seasoning cubes; 20bags of salt, 21 cartons of tin tomato paste, 1,000 nylon mats and 1,000 towels.
Other items were 1,000 mosquito nets, 50 cartons of toilet soaps, 500 mattresses, 500 blankets, 500 pieces of brocade, 500 fathoms of wax print, 100 packets of diapers, 100 bags of detergents and 100 packets of sanitary pads.
Tepikor said the relief materials were also extended to victims who suffered various degrees of injury but survived the stampede.
A bereaved family member, Mrs. Silvaline Emesokwu, whose younger sister died in the stampede, thanked the Federal Government and NEMA for giving them the relief materials. She said her sister, Patience Emesokwu, left behind two children, whose upkeep has fallen on the larger family.
“We are now looking for money to bury her. We are appealing to the state and Federal Government to assist us to bury our people. We also appeal to the Federal Government to tell those in charge to release the corpses for us instead of telling us to go and swear affidavits, go to police to get police reports. All those processes involve money.
Another deceased family member, Mr. Emmanuel Boms, who lost his nine-year-old daughter in the stampede, appealed to the Federal Government and the church to assist families of the deceased with funds to bury their dead.
Lead Pastor of Kings Assembly Church, Chris Ugoh, thanked NEMA and the Federal Government for assisting the church and families of the victims.
“We are deeply sorry for what happened because since 2014 that we started serving the city every year, seeing to the needs of orphans, the less privileged, we have not experienced such an ugly incident or any problem,”Ugoh said.
He promised that the relief materials would be appropriately distributed, “so that who should get this will get it,” Ugoh said.
The PPRO however said that it was not the police that were stopping the families from collecting the corpses of their lives ones. She told National Point that the police were only playing safe by asking the families to present valid documents about their lost ones to be sure that they don’t collect the wrong corpses.