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 occurred

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

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

“8 individuals have actually considering that been jailed for their various participations”, police representative Adewale Osifeso stated in a statement.

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 included.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Thursday in a declaration “revealed profound sadness over the awful occurrence”.

He offered his “heartfelt acknowledgements” to residents, state authorities and the “mourning families who have lost their precious kids”.

He urged the “Oyo State government to take every required procedure to prevent such a disaster from persisting”, the statement by the presidency included.

“Among the essential actions are a thorough evaluation of all public events’ safety measures, stringent enforcement of safety policies, and routine safety audits of occasion locations,” Tinubu added.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

Nigeria has seen several fatal stampedes in recent months.

In March, 2 trainees died and 23 were hurt after being squashed as thousands collected for totally free bags of rice given out by regional authorities at Nasarawa State University, in main Nigeria.

Later that month, another stampede killed 4 ladies who had actually been waiting outside the office of a wealthy businessman in the northern city of Bauchi to collect 5,000 naira ($3.40) money gifts to assist pay for food during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

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

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

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

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