Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This 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 eliminated 35 children and seriously hurt six others, authorities stated on Thursday.

The hurt children were getting medical attention following the event, which took place on Wednesday in Nigeria’s third-largest city, Oyo State Police Command said.

“8 individuals have given that been apprehended for their different involvements”, authorities representative Adewale Osifeso stated in a statement.

Among those detained was the primary sponsor of the event 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 opened a probe, Osifeso added.

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

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

He urged the “Oyo State government to take every necessary procedure to avoid such a catastrophe from reoccurring”, the statement by the presidency included.

“Among the essential actions are an extensive review of all public events’ precaution, rigorous enforcement of security policies, and routine security audits of occasion places,” Tinubu included.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

Nigeria has seen numerous deadly stampedes in current months.

In March, two trainees passed away and 23 were harmed after being crushed as thousands gathered free of charge bags of rice handed out by regional authorities at Nasarawa State University, in main Nigeria.

Later that month, another stampede killed 4 ladies who had been waiting outside the workplace of a wealthy businessman in the northern city of Bauchi to collect 5,000 naira ($3.40) money presents to assist pay for food during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Witnesses stated members of the crowd pressed to get hold of the cash, 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 impacted by this catastrophe. May the souls of the left rest in peace,” Makinde said.

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