At least 32 people have been killed in a stampede at a religious festival in Nigeria attended by thousands of young people, a local official said.
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.
Oyo State Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation Dotun Oyelade told journalists that at least 32 people were dead.
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.
State Governor Seyi Makinde said in a statement on X that security forces had been deployed to get the situation under control and evacuate attendees from the site.
“This is a very sad day,” Makinde said. “We sympathise with the parents whose joy has suddenly been turned to mourning due to these deaths.”
“While investigations are ongoing, the primary organisers of the event that led to this stampede have been taken into custody,” he said.
He promised that “anyone directly or remotely involved in this disaster” would be held accountable.
Local media identified the event organisers as the Women In Need Of Guidance and Support Foundation, which held a similar festival last year.
The group was preparing to host up to 5,000 young people at this year’s event, according to the Oyo-based Agidigbo FM radio station.
The festival organisers had promised participants would “win exciting prizes like scholarships and other bountiful gifts”.
Nigeria’s national emergency services said a team had been deployed to provide assistance to the victims.
