Authorities claim they will look into “anyone directly or remotely involved in this disaster” after a number of youngsters died at the Islamic High School in Basorun, Oyo state.
Authorities said that a stampede at a holiday funfair in southwest Nigeria claimed the lives of several children.
The event on Wednesday took place at the Islamic High School in Basorun, Oyo State, which is close to Lagos, the state’s commercial center. According to a statement from state governor Seyi Makinde, security personnel arrived on the spot and took the event planners into custody.
“An incident happened earlier today at Islamic High School Basorun, where a family-oriented event was being held. Unfortunately, a stampede at the location has resulted in numerous fatalities and injuries. It’s a pretty depressing day,” Makinde remarked.
“We sympathise with the parents whose joy has suddenly been turned to mourning due to these deaths,” he said.
According to Nigeria’s national emergency services, a team has been sent in to aid the casualties.
Parents were encouraged to look for any missing people as their children were being sent to nearby hospitals for injuries sustained at the event.
Some children were being carried away from an open field while a sizable audience, primarily made up of children, watched in what appeared to be video footage taken at the site.
The Women In Need Of Guidance and Support Foundation, which hosted a comparable event for kids the previous year, was named by the local media as the event’s organizers.
According to a report on Tuesday by the Agidigbo FM radio station in Oyo, which highlighted the organizers on its show, the organization was getting ready to welcome up to 5,000 youth to this year’s event. Youth “will win exciting prizes like scholarships and other bountiful gifts,” according to the statement.
Makinde stated that an inquiry into the stampede’s causes has been launched and that “anyone directly or remotely involved in this disaster will be held accountable.”
