Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This aerial picture reveals a basic 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 eliminated 35 kids and seriously hurt six others, authorities said on Thursday.

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

“8 persons have considering that been apprehended for their various involvements”, authorities representative Adewale Osifeso said in a statement.

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 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 sadness over the awful incident”.

He used his “genuine condolences” to locals, state authorities and the “mourning households who have lost their precious kids”.

He prompted the “Oyo State federal government to take every essential procedure to avoid such a disaster from repeating”, the statement by the presidency included.

“Among the necessary actions are an extensive review of all public occasions’ precaution, strict enforcement of safety policies, and routine security audits of event locations,” Tinubu added.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

Nigeria has seen several lethal stampedes in current months.

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

Later that month, another stampede eliminated 4 ladies who had been waiting outside the workplace of a rich entrepreneur in the northern city of Bauchi to gather 5,000 naira ($3.40) money gifts to help spend for food throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Witnesses said members of the crowd pressed to acquire the money, causing a stampede, as Nigeria came to grips with its worst financial 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 families and loved ones affected by this catastrophe. May the souls of the departed rest in peace,” said.

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