Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This aerial photo reveals a general 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 actually eliminated 35 children and seriously injured six others, cops stated on Thursday.

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

“8 persons have since been detained for their different involvements”, authorities representative Adewale Osifeso stated in a declaration.

Among those 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 Department has actually opened a probe, Osifeso included.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Thursday in a statement “expressed extensive unhappiness over the awful incident”.

He used his “heartfelt acknowledgements” to residents, state authorities and the “mourning families who have actually lost their precious kids”.

He urged the “Oyo State federal government to take every needed measure to prevent such a catastrophe from reoccurring”, the declaration by the presidency added.

“Among the necessary actions are a comprehensive evaluation of all public occasions’ security procedures, stringent enforcement of safety regulations, and regular safety audits of occasion venues,” Tinubu included.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

Nigeria has seen a number of deadly stampedes in current months.

In March, 2 students died and 23 were harmed after being crushed as thousands gathered totally free bags of rice handed out by local authorities at Nasarawa State University, in main Nigeria.

Later that month, another stampede eliminated 4 females who had been waiting outside the workplace of a wealthy businessman in the northern city of Bauchi to collect 5,000 naira ($3.40) cash gifts to assist 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 faced its worst economic crisis 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 liked ones impacted by this tragedy. May the souls of the departed rest in peace,” Makinde said.

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