The police of Nigeria this Thursday in 35 the number of children who died on Wednesday in a stampede occurred at a fair at a school in the Ibadan citycapital of Oyo state, in the southwest of the country, after a community leader put the number of deaths at 34.
“So far, the deaths of 35 minors have been documented, while six others are seriously injured and receiving medical attention,” Oyo Police spokesperson Adewale Osifeso said in a statement.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu ordered authorities to begin an investigation into the causes of the stampedeas reported by the Presidency.
For his part, Osyphesus said that other seven people, including Naomi Sikeoluwa, ex-wife of a traditional king from neighboring Osun state, were arrested for the incident.
“Residents in the surrounding area are advised not to panic as they will witness high-level patrols and a visible police presence to prevent hoodlums from taking advantage of the unfortunate situation,” the spokesperson stressed.
“The Oyo State Police Command sympathizes with all the families and loved ones affected by the tragedy and assures the good people of the state that justice will be served accordingly“Osyphesus added.
The statement was issued after a community leader confirmed to EFE the death of 34 children. “34 children died in the stampede at the fair. Yesterday we confirmed that 31 children died, but today we confirmed that three more children died in the incident,” Akeem Alao, a community leader from the Bashorun area of Ibadan, where the tragedy occurred, said by telephone.
“Many other children and other people were injured and received treatment in the hospital,” Alao added of the stampede, which took place at the Bashorun Islamic Secondary School.
The leader blamed the deaths on poor crowd control by organizers. of the fair, Women in Need of Guidance and Support, a non-governmental organization reportedly owned by the ex-wife of a traditional king of Osun State.
Animot Akindele, an eyewitness to the tragedy and a resident of Bashorun, told EFE that the incident occurred due to the impatience of the crowd. “I was there with my 5-year-old son after hearing on the radio that a group would be handing out gifts to children. But when we got there around 6 a.m. (05:00 GMT), thousands of children and their parents They were already there,” Akindele said.
“Suddenly, there was an avalanche and people, mainly children, were pushed to the ground and trampled.. “I quickly carried my son on my back and struggled to get out of the place,” the mother added.
The governor of Oyo, Seyi Makinde, reported this Wednesday about the stampede, which caused “multiple fatalities and injuries“, although he did not specify the number of deaths and injuries at the time.
Event organizers arrested
“While investigations are ongoing, The main organizers of the event that caused this stampede have been arrested“, stressed the governor, stressing that “any person who has been directly or remotely involved in this disaster will be responsible.”
After the event, The event was canceled immediately. and necessary measures were taken to reduce the number of victims, according to Makinde.
“We stand in solidarity with the parents, whose joy has suddenly turned into mourning over these deaths,” added the leader, who urged the population to remain “calm while security agencies investigate this unfortunate incident.”
These types of incidents have occurred relatively frequently this year in Nigeriawhere at least four women died on March 24 in a stampede at a charity event to donate cash to the poor in Bauchi (north).
That tragedy occurred after at least two university students died two days before and another 23 students were injured in a stampede during the distribution of a donation of bags of rice at the Nasarawa State University in the city of Keffi (center).
Last February, At least seven people died and fourteen others were injured in a riot during a sale of bags of rice in Lagos, economic capital of Nigeria.
