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 took place

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

The injured kids 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 arrested for their numerous participations”, cops spokesperson Adewale Osifeso said in a statement.

Among those detained was the main 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 actually opened a probe, Osifeso included.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Thursday in a declaration “expressed extensive unhappiness over the awful incident”.

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

He prompted the “Oyo State federal government to take every required step to prevent such a tragedy from persisting”, the statement by the presidency added.

“Among the essential actions are an extensive evaluation of all public occasions’ precaution, strict enforcement of security guidelines, and regular safety audits of event venues,” Tinubu added.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

Nigeria has seen numerous deadly stampedes in recent months.

In March, 2 trainees died and 23 were injured after being squashed as thousands collected for free bags of rice distributed by local authorities at Nasarawa State University, in central Nigeria.

Later that month, another stampede killed four females who had been waiting outside the office of a wealthy business owner in the northern city of Bauchi to 5,000 naira ($3.40) cash presents to help pay for food throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

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

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

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

“We sympathise with the parents whose pleasure has unexpectedly been turned to grieving due to these deaths,” he included.