Police said that at least 31 people died in the stampede in southern Nigeria on Saturday as a result of a church-sponsored food distribution.

Grace Iringe Kooko, a local police spokesperson, stated that the disaster took place in Port Harcourt, Rivers state. She cited 31 deaths.

Local media in Nigeria reported that the King's Assembly Church organized the event to distribute food and other supplies to the poor at an oil city polo field.

Nigeria has suffered many tragedies in recent years due to stampedes related to food distributions. In 2021, seven Nigerian women were killed in a program for food distribution organized by a humanitarian agency located in the northern state Borno.