Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This aerial picture reveals a general view of the city of Ibadan in southwestern Nigeria, where the incident happened

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

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

“8 individuals have given that been apprehended for their numerous participations”, police spokesperson Adewale Osifeso stated in a declaration.

Among those apprehended was the main sponsor of the event at the Basorun Islamic High School, which was by the Wings Foundation and Agidigbo FM radio.

The Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department has opened a probe, Osifeso included.

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

He provided his “sincere condolences” to residents, state authorities and the “grieving families who have actually lost their precious kids”.

He advised the “Oyo State government to take every essential step to avoid such a tragedy from repeating”, the statement by the presidency added.

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

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

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

In March, 2 students passed away and 23 were harmed after being squashed 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 eliminated four females who had actually been waiting outside the office of a wealthy business person in the northern city of Bauchi to gather 5,000 naira ($3.40) money gifts to assist spend for food during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Witnesses said members of the crowd pressed to acquire the money, causing a stampede, as Nigeria came to grips with its worst financial 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 enjoyed ones impacted by this catastrophe. May the souls of the departed rest in peace,” Makinde said.

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