Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This aerial picture shows a general view of the city of Ibadan in southwestern Nigeria, where the occurrence took place

A stampede at a school funfair in the southwestern Nigerian city of Ibadan has actually killed 35 children and seriously injured 6 others, authorities stated on Thursday.

The hurt kids were receiving medical attention following the event, which took place on Wednesday in Nigeria’s third-largest city, Oyo State Police Command said.

“8 persons have given that been detained for their numerous participations”, cops representative Adewale Osifeso said in a declaration.

Among those detained was the main 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 has opened a probe, Osifeso added.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Thursday in a statement “expressed profound sadness over the awful event”.

He used his “wholehearted condolences” to locals, state authorities and the “grieving families who have actually lost their beloved children”.

He prompted the “Oyo State federal government to take every needed measure to avoid such a tragedy from persisting”, the statement by the presidency added.

“Among the essential actions are an extensive evaluation of all public occasions’ precaution, rigorous enforcement of safety policies, and regular security audits of occasion locations,” Tinubu added.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

Nigeria has actually seen a number of lethal stampedes in recent months.

In March, two 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 killed 4 women who had actually been waiting outside the office of a wealthy business person in the northern city of Bauchi to gather 5,000 naira ($3.40) cash gifts to help pay for food throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Witnesses stated members of the crowd pushed to get hold of the money, causing a stampede, as Nigeria faced its worst recession 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 households and loved ones affected by this disaster. May the souls of the departed rest in peace,” Makinde said.

“We sympathise with the moms and dads whose delight has actually all of a sudden been turned to mourning due to these deaths,” he added.