Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This aerial photo shows a general view of the city of Ibadan in southwestern Nigeria, where the occurrence occurred

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

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

“8 individuals have given that been jailed for their different involvements”, cops representative Adewale Osifeso said in a declaration.

Among those detained was the primary 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 extensive unhappiness over the awful event”.

He used his “genuine acknowledgements” to residents, state authorities and the “grieving households who have lost their beloved children”.

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

“Among the essential actions are a detailed evaluation of all public occasions’ precaution, rigorous enforcement of safety guidelines, and routine safety audits of occasion locations,” Tinubu added.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

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

In March, two trainees passed away and 23 were harmed after being squashed as thousands collected for free bags of rice distributed by regional authorities at Nasarawa State University, in main Nigeria.

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

Witnesses stated members of the crowd pressed to get hold of the cash, causing a stampede, as Nigeria came to grips with its worst financial crisis in a generation.

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

“Our hearts stay with the families and enjoyed ones affected by this tragedy. 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.