Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This aerial photo reveals a basic view of the city of Ibadan in southwestern Nigeria, where the incident took place

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

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

“8 persons have since been apprehended for their different participations”, cops spokesperson 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 “revealed profound sadness over the terrible incident”.

He offered his “wholehearted acknowledgements” to residents, state authorities and the “mourning households who have actually lost their beloved kids”.

He prompted the “Oyo State federal government to take every needed measure to prevent such a tragedy from returning”, the statement by the presidency added.

“Among the important actions are a detailed evaluation of all public events’ precaution, stringent enforcement of security guidelines, and routine security audits of event locations,” Tinubu included.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

Nigeria has seen a number of fatal stampedes in current months.

In March, 2 trainees passed away and 23 were hurt after being squashed as thousands collected for complimentary bags of rice distributed 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 wealthy business person in the of Bauchi to collect 5,000 naira ($3.40) cash presents to assist pay for food throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

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

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

“Our hearts remain with the households and liked ones affected by this catastrophe. May the souls of the left rest in peace,” Makinde stated.

“We sympathise with the moms and dads whose pleasure has all of a sudden been turned to grieving due to these deaths,” he included.