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Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This aerial photo 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 killed 35 kids and seriously injured six others, police stated on Thursday.

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

“8 individuals have since been jailed for their different participations”, cops spokesperson Adewale Osifeso stated 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, Osifeso included.

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

He used his “sincere acknowledgements” to locals, state authorities and the “mourning households who have lost their cherished kids”.

He advised the “Oyo State federal government to take every needed step to avoid such a disaster from repeating”, the statement by the presidency added.

“Among the important actions are a detailed evaluation of all public events’ safety steps, stringent enforcement of security regulations, and regular security audits of event venues,” Tinubu included.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

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

In March, two trainees passed away and 23 were hurt after being crushed as thousands collected for bags of rice given out by local authorities at Nasarawa State University, in main Nigeria.

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

Witnesses stated members of the crowd pushed to acquire the money, triggering 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 stay with the households and enjoyed 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 all of a sudden been turned to mourning due to these deaths,” he added.