Stampede at youth festival in Nigeria causes ‘multiple’ deaths
Al Jazeera
Security forces arrest organisers of event, which was attended by about 5,000 people drawn by ‘exciting prizes’.
A stampede at a religious festival in Nigeria attended by thousands of young people has resulted in several deaths, local officials say.
The incident occurred on Wednesday at an Islamic high school in Ibadan, the capital of Nigeria’s southwest Oyo State, where up to 5,000 young people and children had reportedly gathered for the event.
State Governor Seyi Makinde said in a statement on X that the disaster had caused “multiple loss of lives and injuries” and that security forces had been deployed to get the situation under control and evacuate attendees from the site.
Video footage that appeared to be from the scene showed a large crowd of mostly children looking on as some were carried off the site to local hospitals, according to news agency The Associated Press.
