Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This aerial photograph shows a basic view of the city of Ibadan in southwestern Nigeria, where the occurrence occurred

A stampede at a school funfair in the southwestern Nigerian city of Ibadan has eliminated 35 children and seriously hurt six others, cops stated on Thursday.

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

“8 persons have actually considering that been detained for their different involvements”, authorities spokesperson Adewale Osifeso stated in a declaration.

Among those apprehended was the primary 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 “revealed profound unhappiness over the tragic incident”.

He offered his “wholehearted acknowledgements” to locals, state authorities and the “grieving households who have actually lost their beloved children”.

He urged the “Oyo State government to take every required procedure to prevent such a tragedy from returning”, the declaration by the presidency included.

“Among the important actions are an extensive evaluation of all public events’ precaution, rigorous enforcement of safety policies, and regular security audits of occasion locations,” Tinubu added.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

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

In March, two students passed away and 23 were hurt after being squashed as thousands gathered free of charge bags of rice given out by regional authorities at Nasarawa State University, in main Nigeria.

Later that month, another stampede eliminated 4 women who had been waiting outside the workplace of a wealthy business owner in the northern city of Bauchi to collect 5,000 naira ($3.40) cash presents to help spend for food throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Witnesses said members of the crowd pressed to get hold of the cash, causing 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 loved ones impacted by this disaster. May the souls of the departed rest in peace,” Makinde said.

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