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 six others, police said on Thursday.

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

« 8 individuals have given that been apprehended for their various involvements », police representative Adewale Osifeso said in a statement.

Among those apprehended was the main 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 opened a probe, Osifeso included.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Thursday in a statement « revealed profound unhappiness over the awful event ».

He provided his « sincere condolences » to residents, state authorities and the « mourning households who have actually lost their beloved children ».

He prompted the « Oyo State government to take every necessary step to avoid such a catastrophe from persisting », the declaration by the presidency added.

« Among the important actions are an extensive review of all public occasions’ precaution, strict enforcement of safety regulations, and routine safety audits of event venues, » Tinubu added.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

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

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

Later that month, another stampede eliminated 4 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 throughout 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 financial crisis in a generation.

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

« Our hearts remain with the families and loved ones impacted by this catastrophe. May the souls of the departed rest in peace, » Makinde said.

« We sympathise with the parents whose joy has unexpectedly been turned to mourning due to these deaths, » he included.