Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This aerial photograph shows a general view of the city of Ibadan in southwestern Nigeria, where the event happened

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

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

“8 persons have actually since been detained for their different involvements”, cops representative Adewale Osifeso said in a statement.

Among those detained was the primary sponsor of the occasion 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 opened a probe, Osifeso added.

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

He offered his “genuine condolences” to locals, state authorities and the “grieving families who have lost their beloved kids”.

He urged the “Oyo State government to take every needed step to avoid such a catastrophe from reoccurring”, the declaration by the presidency added.

“Among the important actions are a thorough evaluation of all public events’ safety measures, rigorous enforcement of safety guidelines, and routine security audits of occasion locations,” .

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

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

In March, 2 students passed away and 23 were injured after being squashed as thousands gathered for free bags of rice handed out by local authorities at Nasarawa State University, in central Nigeria.

Later that month, another stampede killed 4 females who had been waiting outside the workplace of a rich businessman in the northern city of Bauchi to collect 5,000 naira ($3.40) money presents to assist spend for food during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Witnesses stated members of the crowd pushed to get hold of the cash, causing a stampede, as Nigeria grappled with its worst recession 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 loved ones impacted by this tragedy. May the souls of the left rest in peace,” Makinde said.

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