Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This aerial picture reveals a basic 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 killed 35 children and seriously injured 6 others, cops stated on Thursday.

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

“8 persons have actually given that been arrested for their various involvements”, authorities representative Adewale Osifeso said 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 “revealed profound sadness over the tragic occurrence”.

He offered his “sincere acknowledgements” to residents, state authorities and the “grieving households who have actually lost their precious children”.

He urged the “Oyo State government to take every necessary procedure to avoid such a disaster from repeating”, the declaration by the presidency added.

“Among the vital actions are a comprehensive evaluation of all public occasions’ security measures, stringent enforcement of safety guidelines, and regular security audits of event places,” Tinubu included.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

Nigeria has actually seen a number of deadly stampedes in current months.

In March, 2 trainees passed away and 23 were harmed after being squashed as thousands gathered totally free bags of rice distributed by local authorities at Nasarawa State University, in main Nigeria.

Later that month, another eliminated four females who had actually been waiting outside the office of a rich businessman in the northern city of Bauchi to gather 5,000 naira ($3.40) cash presents to assist pay 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 recession in a generation.

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

“Our hearts remain with the households and loved ones impacted by this tragedy. May the souls of the left rest in peace,” Makinde stated.

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