Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This aerial photo shows a basic view of the city of Ibadan in southwestern Nigeria, where the incident took place

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

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

«8 persons have given that been arrested for their various involvements», cops spokesperson Adewale Osifeso stated in a statement.

Among those detained was the main sponsor of the event 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 added.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Thursday in a declaration «revealed extensive sadness over the tragic occurrence».

He provided his «wholehearted acknowledgements» to residents, state authorities and the «mourning households who have lost their cherished kids».

He urged the «Oyo State government to take every required step to prevent such a tragedy from returning», the declaration by the presidency added.

«Among the essential actions are an extensive evaluation of all public occasions’ precaution, rigorous enforcement of security policies, and routine security audits of occasion venues,» Tinubu included.

— ‘Rest in peace’ —

Nigeria has actually seen several lethal stampedes in recent months.

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

Later that month, another stampede eliminated 4 women who had actually been waiting outside the office of a rich business owner in the of Bauchi to gather 5,000 naira ($3.40) cash gifts to help spend for food during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Witnesses said members of the crowd pushed to acquire the money, triggering a stampede, as Nigeria came to grips with 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 stay with the households and liked ones impacted by this disaster. May the souls of the left rest in peace,» Makinde stated.

«We sympathise with the parents whose pleasure has actually suddenly been turned to mourning due to these deaths,» he added.