Governor Okorocha prays for victims of Anambra stampede

The Imo State governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha has expressed shock at the death of over 25 people during the stampede at Anambra State recently.

The governor who prayed for the repose of the souls of the dead and speedy recovery of those injured.

regretted that while Anambrarians are mourning their dead,  the leadership of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) is busy apportioning blames and has failed to take responsibility for the tragedy. Said he; “Now is not the time to play politics over the unfortunate incident.  We should respect the pains and sorrows these families are going through and not divert attention from the real issues”.

He said thorough investigation should be carried out to ascertain the immediate and remote causes of the incident to avoid such re-occurrence in future.

Throwing more light on the incident, the Catholic Archbishop of Onitsha Diocese, Most Reverend Valerian Okeke, attributed the stampede at Holy Ghost Adoration Centre, Uke,  Anambra State, to “false alarm.”
Okeke said at a news conference on Sunday that the stampede was not caused by sabotage and that the church was not suspecting any sabotage, saying, “it is an unfortunate incident.”

Represented by Reverend Father Uche Ukor, the Director of Social Communications, Okeke also denied reports that the stampede was caused by a snake that purportedly came out from somewhere.
Said he; “In the early hours of Saturday, November 2, there was a stampede moments after prayers at Holy Ghost Adoration Centre, Uke, in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State.
“The stampede, which occurred while people were going home, resulted in the loss of some lives.  Some are still injured and receiving treatments in some hospitals.
“The stampede was reportedly caused by a false alarm raised by somebody in the crowd along one of the narrow roads out of the town.
“The crowd was so much that people wanting to leave all at the same time made it very difficult for people to find enough space to move.
“Vigil was usually held at the centre on every first Friday of the month,”
 “The crowd at the centre was unprecedented on this first Friday of November, probably because it was the Solemnity of All Saints – a holy day of obligation for Catholic faithful.”
“Save for the unprecedented crowd, the vigil started and ended normally,’’ he said, and expressed sadness over the ugly incident.
On whether the incident had a political connotation, Rev. Okeke said the church would not delve into politics or speak for any politician.
He, however, confirmed that Sen. Chris Ngige, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 16 election, did not attend the programme.
Three of the victims regained consciousness at the hospitals, it was gathered.
Dr. Ngige, who visited the recuperating victims in the hospitals, donated N500,000 to take care of their hospital bills.