Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This aerial photograph reveals a basic view of the city of Ibadan in southwestern Nigeria, where the event occurred

A stampede at a school funfair in the southwestern Nigerian city of Ibadan has eliminated 35 children and seriously hurt 6 others, police said on Thursday.

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

“8 persons have since been arrested for their various participations”, authorities spokesperson Adewale Osifeso stated in a declaration.

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

The Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department has opened a probe, Osifeso included.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Thursday in a statement “revealed profound unhappiness over the tragic event”.

He provided his “wholehearted acknowledgements” to residents, state authorities and the “grieving families who have lost their cherished children”.

He prompted the “Oyo State government to take every needed procedure to prevent such a catastrophe from returning”, the declaration by the presidency added.

“Among the essential actions are a thorough review of all public occasions’ precaution, stringent enforcement of safety regulations, and regular safety audits of event places,” Tinubu included.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

Nigeria has actually seen numerous deadly stampedes in current months.

In March, 2 trainees died and 23 were injured after being crushed as thousands collected free of charge bags of rice given out by local authorities at Nasarawa State University, in main Nigeria.

Later that month, another stampede killed four women who had been waiting outside the workplace of a rich businessman in the northern city of Bauchi to collect 5,000 naira ($3.40) cash gifts to assist spend for food during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Witnesses said members of the crowd pressed to get hold of the cash, triggering a stampede, as Nigeria came to grips with its worst economic crisis in a generation.

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

“Our hearts stay with the households and enjoyed ones impacted by this catastrophe. May the souls of the departed rest in peace,” Makinde said.

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