Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This aerial picture shows 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 kids and seriously injured 6 others, police stated on Thursday.

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

“8 individuals have since been detained for their different involvements”, police spokesperson Adewale Osifeso stated in a statement.

Among those apprehended was the primary sponsor of the occasion 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 added.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Thursday in a declaration “revealed extensive unhappiness over the awful incident”.

He used his “wholehearted acknowledgements” to locals, state authorities and the “mourning households who have actually lost their cherished children”.

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

“Among the vital actions are a detailed evaluation of all public events’ precaution, rigorous enforcement of safety regulations, and routine security audits of event places,” Tinubu added.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

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

In March, 2 students died and 23 were harmed 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 4 females who had actually been waiting outside the office of a wealthy businessman in the northern city of Bauchi to collect 5,000 naira ($3.40) money presents to help pay for food during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Witnesses said members of the crowd pressed to get hold of the cash, causing a stampede, as Nigeria faced its worst economic crisis in a generation.

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

“Our hearts stay with the families and loved ones affected by this tragedy. May the souls of the left rest in peace,” Makinde said.

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