Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This aerial picture shows a basic view of the city of Ibadan in southwestern Nigeria, where the occurrence happened

A stampede at a school funfair in the southwestern Nigerian city of Ibadan has eliminated 35 children and seriously injured six others, authorities stated on Thursday.

The hurt children were getting medical attention following the incident, which happened on Wednesday in Nigeria’s third-largest city, Oyo State Police Command stated.

“8 individuals have because been apprehended for their various involvements”, cops representative Adewale Osifeso stated in a declaration.

Among those detained was the main sponsor of the event at the Basorun Islamic High School, which was organised by the Wings Foundation and Agidigbo FM radio.

The Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department has actually opened a probe, Osifeso added.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Thursday in a declaration “expressed profound sadness over the terrible incident”.

He used his “sincere condolences” to locals, state authorities and the “mourning families who have lost their beloved kids”.

He advised the “Oyo State government to take every essential step to prevent such a catastrophe from persisting”, the statement by the presidency added.

“Among the necessary actions are a detailed evaluation of all public events’ security procedures, rigorous enforcement of security regulations, and regular security audits of event venues,” .

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

Nigeria has actually seen numerous deadly stampedes in current months.

In March, two trainees died and 23 were injured after being squashed as thousands collected free of charge bags of rice handed out by local authorities at Nasarawa State University, in main Nigeria.

Later that month, another stampede eliminated four women who had been waiting outside the workplace of a wealthy businessman in the northern city of Bauchi to collect 5,000 naira ($3.40) money presents to help spend for food during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Witnesses stated members of the crowd pushed to acquire the cash, causing a stampede, as Nigeria faced its worst financial crisis in a generation.

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde had shared his acknowledgements for the Ibadan victims on X on Wednesday.

“Our hearts remain with the families and loved ones impacted by this catastrophe. May the souls of the departed rest in peace,” Makinde said.

“We sympathise with the moms and dads whose pleasure has actually suddenly been turned to grieving due to these deaths,” he included.