A witness of the Saturday presidential rally tragedy in Port Harcourt has narrated how he watched a police horse trampled on a woman now critically ill in the hospital. Speaking with Daily Sun on Monday in Port Harcourt, Lucky Ottos, a member of the National Youth Council, Rivers State chapter, said it was sheer luck that saved him from being counted as one of the casualties.
Ottos, who is the Youth leader of Abua/Odual Local Government Area in the state recalled also how a group of mobile police personnel and some security men in mufti who introduced themselves as federal policemen from Abuja, kicked and ordered some law enforcement agents in the state out of the stadium.
Recalling his sad experience, the youth leader said he and his team had gone to the stadium to cheer Governor Amaechi and a female candidate for the Port Harcourt Local Government Area Constituency One when at about 12:15 p.m., some MOPOL men and some others in mufti; came to where they stood and one of them in suit, ordered the local policemen and traffic officials out of the stadium.
“As these policemen were going, these ones that said they are federal security from Abuja started kicking and pushing those from here, telling them to get out fast and they afterwards took over the place. People watched as the local policemen were being pushed and many of us started asking whether policemen could also push their colleagues as they do to civilians.”
Mr. Ottos recalled that shortly after Governor Chibuike Amaechi was given the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag, most of the supporters started jubilating and it was at that time he saw the PDP female candidate, Mrs. Victoria Nyeche Wobo coming out of the stadium with her campaign manager popularly known as Hajia and who later became one of the causalities.
“As they walked past the gate, I saw the security man receiving a call and immediately, he ordered that the main gate should be locked, thereby leaving only the small gate for the surging crowd.
“While people were struggling to come out of the small gate, these MOPOL men from Abuja including one that has ‘Hassan’ on his name tag started chasing and hitting people with their rifles. Later, one of them shouted that they should bring a horse to chase us.
“The horse was brought and initially it looked scared but soon went after us as its rider hit it. It was then I saw the horse match on one fat woman I know as Caro, one of us. She is now in a private clinic. Caro fell and the horse matched on her.
“The police horse rider later told his colleagues to fire into the air to scare people and we all started screaming that they should not kill us because we came to receive the president. All these happened near the small gate.
“It was at this stage that the stampede started. I heard a boy screaming that his mother had fallen and that she was hypertensive. I don’t know whether the woman survived.”
Mr. Ottos said security men at the main gate of the stadium were also to blame for the incident because each time a known dignitary drove to the main gate, it was opened to them to drive out, adding that it was when the surging crowd pushed harder that many persons fell and were trampled on.
“People shifted each time a VIP wanted to drive out and the gate would be opened. At a stage, people became restless and pushed the main gate. The first set of crowd that forced the gate open fell and those who were behind matched on them.”
Ottos, who told Daily Sun that he would appear before the presidential panel on the incident, insisted that more than 11 persons died in the incident “because I saw about 20 bodies and I joined TIMARIV people to carry some bodies into their vehicles.”
Meanwhile, a Federal Government delegation, led by Vice President Sambo on Monday visited Port Harcourt to condole with the government and people of the state. The delegation also visited some of the victims in the hospital.
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