A tragic stampede at Basorun Islamic High School during a children’s carnival on Wednesday resulted in multiple fatalities, most of them children, and left several others injured.
Governor Seyi Makinde, in a statement on his X handle, described the incident as a “very sad day for Oyo State” and expressed his condolences to grieving families.
“This is a very sad day for us here in Oyo State. We sympathise with the parents whose joy has suddenly been turned to mourning due to these deaths,” the governor said.
Makinde confirmed that investigations are underway and announced that the primary organisers of the event had been taken into custody.
“We have taken steps to ensure no further deaths are recorded at this venue by deploying security agents to restore order and deploying medical personnel and ambulances to the venue,” he added.
The carnival, reportedly a private end-of-year funfair, turned chaotic when overcrowding led to a stampede. Victims were quickly transported to hospitals across Ibadan, including Patnas Hospital, Western Hospital, Ring Road State Hospital, Molly Specialist Hospital, and the University College Hospital (UCH).
State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Dotun Oyelade, described the stampede as unfortunate and clarified that the state government was not involved in organising the event.
“The state government was not involved in any of the planning, neither was the Ministry of Health requested to provide any logistics to support the private children’s end-of-the-year funfair,” Oyelade said.
He urged parents searching for their children to visit the hospitals with valid means of identification and assured the public that the government would support the victims and their families during this difficult period.
The Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adewale Osifeso, confirmed that an investigation is ongoing and promised updates as more details emerge.
Governor Makinde pledged accountability, saying, “Anyone directly or remotely involved in this disaster will be held accountable. Please remain calm as the security agencies investigate this unfortunate incident.”
