Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This aerial photograph shows a basic view of the city of Ibadan in southwestern Nigeria, where the incident occurred

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

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

“8 individuals have actually because been arrested for their numerous participations”, police representative Adewale Osifeso stated in a declaration.

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

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

He provided his “sincere acknowledgements” to residents, state authorities and the “mourning families who have lost their beloved children”.

He prompted the “Oyo State federal government to take every essential step to prevent such a tragedy from repeating”, the declaration by the presidency included.

“Among the essential actions are a thorough evaluation of all public occasions’ security procedures, rigorous enforcement of security policies, and routine safety audits of event locations,” Tinubu included.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

Nigeria has seen numerous deadly stampedes in current months.

In March, 2 trainees died and 23 were harmed after being crushed as thousands collected free of charge bags of rice handed out by local authorities at Nasarawa State University, in main Nigeria.

Later that month, another stampede killed four females who had been waiting outside the office of a wealthy business person in the northern city of Bauchi to collect 5,000 naira ($3.40) cash gifts to help spend for food throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Witnesses stated members of the crowd pushed to acquire the money, causing a stampede, as Nigeria faced its worst financial crisis in a generation.

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

“Our hearts stay with the families and loved ones impacted by this tragedy. May the souls of the departed rest in peace,” Makinde stated.

“We sympathise with the parents whose joy has all of a sudden been turned to grieving due to these deaths,” he included.