Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This aerial picture shows a basic view of the city of Ibadan in southwestern Nigeria, where the event happened

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

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

“8 persons have considering that been jailed for their different participations”, police spokesperson Adewale Osifeso said in a statement.

Among those detained was the main 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 actually opened a probe, Osifeso included.

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

He provided his “genuine condolences” to locals, state authorities and the “grieving families who have actually lost their cherished children”.

He advised the “Oyo State government to take every essential procedure to avoid such a catastrophe from persisting”, the statement by the presidency included.

“Among the necessary actions are a comprehensive evaluation of all public occasions’ precaution, stringent enforcement of security guidelines, and routine safety audits of occasion places,” Tinubu added.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

Nigeria has actually seen several deadly stampedes in recent months.

In March, two trainees passed away and 23 were harmed after being squashed as thousands gathered free of charge bags of rice handed out by local authorities at Nasarawa State University, in central Nigeria.

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

Witnesses stated members of the to get hold of the money, causing a stampede, as Nigeria came to grips with its worst financial crisis 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 left rest in peace,” Makinde stated.

“We sympathise with the parents whose delight has actually unexpectedly been turned to mourning due to these deaths,” he added.