Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This aerial photo 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 eliminated 35 children and seriously hurt 6 others, cops said on Thursday.

The injured kids 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 given that been jailed for their various involvements”, authorities representative Adewale Osifeso stated in a declaration.

Among those detained was the main sponsor of the event 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 actually opened a probe, Osifeso added.

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

He offered his “wholehearted condolences” to residents, state authorities and the “mourning households who have actually lost their cherished children”.

He advised the “Oyo State government to take every essential procedure to prevent such a catastrophe from returning”, the statement by the presidency added.

“Among the important actions are a thorough evaluation of all public events’ precaution, rigorous enforcement of security guidelines, and regular safety audits of occasion places,” Tinubu included.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

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

In March, 2 students passed away and 23 were hurt after being squashed as thousands gathered totally free bags of rice distributed by local authorities at Nasarawa State University, in .

Later that month, another stampede eliminated 4 women who had been waiting outside the office of a rich businessman in the northern city of Bauchi to gather 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 money, causing a stampede, as Nigeria came to grips with 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 stay with the families and liked ones impacted by this tragedy. May the souls of the left rest in peace,” Makinde said.

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