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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 children and seriously hurt six others, police stated on Thursday.

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

“8 persons have considering that been detained for their numerous involvements”, cops representative Adewale Osifeso stated in a statement.

Among those apprehended was the primary 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 offered his “wholehearted condolences” to residents, state authorities and the “grieving families who have lost their beloved kids”.

He prompted the “Oyo State federal government to take every needed step to prevent such a tragedy from reoccurring”, the statement by the presidency added.

“Among the essential actions are a detailed review of all public events’ security procedures, stringent enforcement of safety guidelines, and routine security audits of occasion venues,” Tinubu included.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

Nigeria has actually seen numerous deadly stampedes in recent months.

In March, two trainees passed away and 23 were injured after being crushed as totally free bags of rice handed out by local authorities at Nasarawa State University, in main Nigeria.

Later that month, another stampede eliminated 4 ladies who had actually been waiting outside the office of a rich 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 pressed to get hold of the cash, causing a stampede, as Nigeria came to grips with its worst recession in a generation.

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

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

“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.