Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This shows a general view of the city of Ibadan in southwestern Nigeria, where the incident occurred

A stampede at a school funfair in the southwestern Nigerian city of Ibadan has actually killed 35 children and seriously injured 6 others, police said on Thursday.

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

“8 persons have considering that been arrested for their various involvements”, authorities representative Adewale Osifeso stated in a statement.

Among those detained was the primary 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 included.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Thursday in a declaration “expressed extensive sadness over the tragic event”.

He used his “wholehearted acknowledgements” to locals, state authorities and the “mourning families who have actually lost their precious kids”.

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

“Among the necessary actions are an extensive evaluation of all public occasions’ precaution, rigorous enforcement of security policies, and regular safety audits of event locations,” Tinubu included.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

Nigeria has actually seen a number of deadly stampedes in current 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 local authorities at Nasarawa State University, in central Nigeria.

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

Witnesses stated members of the crowd pushed to get hold of the cash, causing a stampede, as Nigeria grappled with its worst recession in a generation.

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

“Our hearts stay 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 parents whose delight has actually unexpectedly been turned to mourning due to these deaths,” he included.