Nigeria School Fair Stampede Kills 35 Children

This aerial picture reveals a general 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 killed 35 and seriously hurt six others, police said on Thursday.

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

«8 individuals have actually considering that been apprehended for their various participations», cops representative Adewale Osifeso said in a declaration.

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 opened a probe, Osifeso added.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Thursday in a statement «expressed profound unhappiness over the tragic incident».

He offered his «genuine acknowledgements» to residents, state authorities and the «mourning families who have lost their precious kids».

He urged the «Oyo State federal government to take every required step to avoid such a disaster from persisting», the statement by the presidency added.

«Among the important actions are a detailed evaluation of all public occasions’ safety procedures, rigorous enforcement of safety policies, and routine safety audits of occasion places,» Tinubu included.

– ‘Rest in peace’ –

Nigeria has actually seen numerous fatal stampedes in current months.

In March, two students died and 23 were harmed after being squashed as thousands collected totally free bags of rice distributed by local authorities at Nasarawa State University, in main Nigeria.

Later that month, another stampede eliminated 4 females who had been waiting outside the workplace of a wealthy business person in the northern city of Bauchi to gather 5,000 naira ($3.40) cash gifts to assist spend for food throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Witnesses said members of the crowd pushed to get hold of the money, triggering a stampede, as Nigeria grappled with 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 liked ones affected by this disaster. May the souls of the departed rest in peace,» Makinde said.

«We sympathise with the moms and dads whose pleasure has actually suddenly been turned to grieving due to these deaths,» he included.