The Akwa Ibom State government has denied a report that five people were feared dead as a result of stampede during the match between Nigeria and Zambia at the Godswill Akpabio international stadium in Uyo on Saturday.
According to Charles Udoh, commissioner for information and Strategy, the report is not only false but it is tainted with malice.
“I wish to categorically state that the said report is false and tainted with malice,” the commissioner said.
In a statement issued in Uyo and made available to the media, Udoh explained that “there was a rush by fans who arrived the venue after the match had started, trying to gain entrance into the stadium which led to a few of them sustaining minor injuries,” the statement said.
According to him, nine people got injured during the incident and all of them were taken to the hospital for treatment while no life was lost adding it was confirmed by the Akwa Ibom State Police Public Relations Officer and the Commissioner for Health.
Maintaining that the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium is “probably the best maintained sporting facility in Nigeria and has no history of poor crowd control as contained in the report, he noted that Akwa Ibom State is reputed as being; not only a peaceful state but a safe and secure state with credible leadership.”
He said the National Bureau of Statistics in the last 18 months had listed Akwa Ibom State as the 2nd largest Foreign Direct Investment Destination in Nigeria.
“We are dismayed that such a report; which has a high potency of painting a negative picture of not only Akwa Ibom but Nigeria as country, was published without verifying the facts.
“It is instructive to note that the Nigeria vs Zambia match was a FIFA organised match and mischievous insinuations as contained in the said report could easily lead to Nigeria being sanctioned,” the commissioner said.
He expressed the hope that the author of the said report “will take the pains to ensure the veracity of information in future before publication.”
ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo
