Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This aerial picture shows 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 eliminated 35 children and seriously injured 6 others, cops said on Thursday.

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

“8 persons have actually considering that been apprehended for their various participations”, cops representative Adewale Osifeso stated in a statement.

Among those apprehended was the main sponsor of the event 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 declaration “revealed profound sadness over the tragic incident”.

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

He advised the “Oyo State government to take every needed measure to prevent such a tragedy from reoccurring”, the statement by the presidency included.

“Among the important actions are a thorough review of all public events’ safety steps, stringent enforcement of security policies, and regular security audits of event locations,” Tinubu added.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

Nigeria has seen numerous deadly stampedes in recent months.

In March, 2 students died and 23 were harmed after being crushed as thousands collected for free bags of rice distributed by local authorities at Nasarawa State University, in central Nigeria.

Later that month, another stampede eliminated four women who had actually been waiting outside the workplace of a wealthy entrepreneur in the northern city of Bauchi to collect 5,000 naira ($3.40) cash presents to assist spend for food during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Witnesses said members of the crowd pressed to acquire the cash, causing a stampede, as Nigeria came to grips with its 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 households and loved ones impacted by this catastrophe. May the souls of the departed rest in peace,” Makinde stated.

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