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 children and seriously hurt six others, authorities said on Thursday.

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

“8 individuals have given that been arrested for their different participations”, cops representative Adewale Osifeso said in a statement.

Among those detained 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 actually opened a probe, Osifeso added.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Thursday in a statement “expressed extensive sadness over the tragic occurrence”.

He provided his “heartfelt condolences” to locals, state authorities and the “grieving households who have lost their precious children”.

He advised the “Oyo State government to take every needed procedure to prevent such a disaster from returning”, the declaration by the presidency included.

“Among the necessary actions are an extensive evaluation of all public occasions’ precaution, stringent enforcement of safety guidelines, and routine safety audits of occasion places,” Tinubu added.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

Nigeria has seen several fatal stampedes in current months.

In March, 2 students passed away and 23 were hurt after being crushed as thousands collected totally free bags of rice handed out by regional authorities at Nasarawa State University, in central Nigeria.

Later that month, another stampede killed 4 females who had been waiting outside the office of a owner in the northern city of Bauchi to collect 5,000 naira ($3.40) cash presents to assist pay for food throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Witnesses said members of the crowd pushed to acquire the money, triggering a stampede, as Nigeria faced 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 stay with the families and loved ones impacted by this catastrophe. May the souls of the left rest in peace,” Makinde said.

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