Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This aerial photograph reveals a basic view of the city of Ibadan in southwestern Nigeria, where the incident took place

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

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

“8 persons have since been jailed for their various involvements”, authorities representative Adewale Osifeso stated in a statement.

Among those detained was the primary sponsor of the occasion 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 declaration “revealed extensive unhappiness over the awful incident”.

He offered his “heartfelt acknowledgements” to residents, state authorities and the “grieving households who have lost their beloved kids”.

He advised the “Oyo State government to take every needed step to avoid such a tragedy from returning”, the declaration by the presidency included.

“Among the necessary actions are an extensive evaluation of all public occasions’ safety steps, stringent enforcement of security regulations, and routine security audits of occasion venues,” Tinubu included.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

Nigeria has seen numerous fatal stampedes in current months.

In March, two students died and 23 were hurt after being squashed as thousands collected free of charge bags of rice handed out by local authorities at Nasarawa State University, in central Nigeria.

Later that month, another stampede killed four ladies who had actually been waiting outside the workplace of a rich businessman in the northern city of Bauchi to collect 5,000 naira ($3.40) money presents to help pay for food during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Witnesses stated members of the crowd pushed to acquire the cash, triggering a stampede, as Nigeria faced its worst financial crisis in a generation.

Oyo State Makinde had shared his acknowledgements for the Ibadan victims on X on Wednesday.

“Our hearts stay with the families and loved ones impacted by this catastrophe. May the souls of the left rest in peace,” Makinde stated.

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