Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This aerial photograph shows a general 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 hurt six others, police said on Thursday.

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

“8 persons have actually because been jailed for their numerous participations”, authorities spokesperson Adewale Osifeso said in a statement.

Among those apprehended was the main sponsor of the event at the Basorun Islamic High School, which was organised by the Wings Foundation and 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 extensive unhappiness over the awful incident”.

He provided his “heartfelt acknowledgements” to locals, state authorities and the “grieving households who have lost their cherished kids”.

He prompted the “Oyo State government to take every needed procedure to prevent such a tragedy from repeating”, the declaration by the presidency added.

“Among the essential actions are a comprehensive review of all public events’ security measures, rigorous enforcement of safety guidelines, and regular security audits of occasion places,” Tinubu included.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

Nigeria has actually seen numerous deadly stampedes in current months.

In March, two trainees passed away and 23 were hurt after being squashed as thousands collected for totally free bags of rice distributed by regional authorities at Nasarawa State University, in main Nigeria.

Later that month, another stampede killed four women who had actually been waiting outside the office of a wealthy businessman in the northern city of Bauchi to gather 5,000 naira ($3.40) money presents to help spend for food throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Witnesses stated members of the crowd pushed to get hold of the money, triggering a stampede, as Nigeria came to grips with its worst recession 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 liked ones affected by this catastrophe. May the souls of the departed rest in peace,” Makinde stated.

“We sympathise with the parents whose pleasure has actually all of a sudden been turned to grieving due to these deaths,” he added.