Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

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

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

The injured kids were getting medical attention following the event, which took place on Wednesday in Nigeria’s third-largest city, Oyo State Police Command stated.

“8 individuals have actually given that been arrested for their numerous participations”, cops representative Adewale Osifeso stated in a declaration.

Among those detained was the primary 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 statement “revealed extensive unhappiness over the tragic event”.

He provided his “wholehearted acknowledgements” to locals, state authorities and the “grieving households who have lost their precious children”.

He prompted the “Oyo State federal government to take every essential measure to prevent such a catastrophe from repeating”, the statement by the presidency included.

“Among the vital actions are an extensive evaluation of all public occasions’ safety steps, strict enforcement of security regulations, and regular security audits of event places,” Tinubu included.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

Nigeria has seen numerous fatal stampedes in current months.

In March, two students 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 killed 4 ladies who had been waiting outside the workplace of a person in the northern city of Bauchi to gather 5,000 naira ($3.40) cash gifts to help spend for food during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Witnesses stated members of the crowd pressed to get hold of the money, triggering a stampede, as Nigeria came to grips 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 enjoyed ones impacted by this disaster. May the souls of the departed rest in peace,” Makinde said.

“We sympathise with the parents whose joy has actually all of a sudden been turned to grieving due to these deaths,” he included.