Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

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

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

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

“8 persons have because been jailed for their different participations”, authorities representative Adewale Osifeso said in a declaration.

Among those detained was the main 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 added.

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

He offered his “wholehearted condolences” to locals, state authorities and the “mourning families who have lost their beloved children”.

He advised the “Oyo State federal government to take every required measure to prevent such a catastrophe from reoccurring”, the statement by the presidency added.

“Among the important actions are a thorough evaluation of all public events’ safety steps, stringent enforcement of safety regulations, and regular safety audits of occasion locations,” Tinubu added.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

Nigeria has actually seen a number of fatal stampedes in recent months.

In March, 2 students died and 23 were injured after being squashed as thousands collected free of charge bags of rice handed out by regional authorities at Nasarawa State University, in central Nigeria.

Later that month, another stampede eliminated 4 females who had been waiting outside the workplace of a rich business person in the northern city of Bauchi to gather 5,000 naira ($3.40) money presents to help pay for food throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Witnesses said members of the crowd pushed to acquire the money, triggering a stampede, as Nigeria came to grips with its worst economic crisis in a generation.

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

“Our hearts remain with the families and enjoyed ones impacted by this disaster. May the souls of the departed rest in peace,” Makinde said.

“We sympathise with the moms and dads whose joy has suddenly been turned to mourning due to these deaths,” he added.