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 southwestern Nigerian city of Ibadan has killed 35 children and seriously hurt six others, authorities stated on Thursday.

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

“8 persons have since been jailed for their numerous involvements”, police spokesperson Adewale Osifeso said in a declaration.

Among those detained was the primary sponsor of the event 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 opened a probe, added.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Thursday in a declaration “expressed profound unhappiness over the terrible event”.

He provided his “heartfelt condolences” to residents, state authorities and the “grieving households who have actually lost their precious children”.

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

“Among the vital actions are an extensive evaluation of all public events’ safety steps, stringent enforcement of safety guidelines, and routine safety audits of event locations,” Tinubu added.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

Nigeria has actually seen several deadly stampedes in recent months.

In March, two trainees died and 23 were hurt after being crushed as thousands collected free of charge bags of rice handed out by local authorities at Nasarawa State University, in main Nigeria.

Later that month, another stampede eliminated four women who had actually been waiting outside the workplace of a wealthy business owner in the northern city of Bauchi to gather 5,000 naira ($3.40) cash gifts to help spend for food during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Witnesses said members of the crowd pushed to get hold of the cash, triggering a stampede, as Nigeria came to grips with its worst recession in a generation.

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

“Our hearts remain with the families and loved ones affected by this tragedy. May the souls of the departed rest in peace,” Makinde stated.

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