Over 10 children were reported to have died and dozens of children sustained varying degrees of injuries after a stampede occurred during the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi’s former wife, Naomi, end-of-year celebration in Oyo State.
Among the deceased, medical experts revealed that Unfortunately, the doctor confirmed that four children were brought in dead, while others are still receiving treatment.
As gathered, the injured children have been admitted to different hospitals in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, where they can receive better medical services.
Following the stampede, the former queen ordered that the event be stopped and postponed indefinitely, to avoid recording more casualties around the scene.
The party held on Wednesday in collaboration with Agidigbo 88.7 FM, Ibadan, owned by Oriyomi Hamzat, in Ibadan, the state capital, had more than the 5,000 children that was prepared for by the organisers.
It was learnt that the guests stormed the venue from towns surrounding Ibadan after listening to the massive adverts that trailed the party on a popular radio station.
The Guild gathered that the huge crowd was more than the number of guests stipulated for venue of the end-of-the-year party.
As gathered, some of the children and their parents arrived over 12 hours before the event and slept around the venue to ensure they were among first guests to receive gifts packed by the organisers for the children.
Eyewitnesses narrated that some of the deceased children were sleeping when the stampede started while others were yet to have their breakfast before justling with others to collect gifts from the organisers.
One of the Oyo State Police Command’s officers, who did not wish to be named because he was not authorized to speak to reporters, told our reporter that three children died, and more are in hospital.
He said that parents fear the items budgeted for the organisers guests may not get to their children considering the huge crowd that thronged the Agidigbo FM premises, the party’s venue.
Confirming the stampede, the State Governor, Seyi Makinde, described the development as unfortunate and promised that the state government would ensure justice for the affected families.
Makinde, who did not give accurate number of deceased children, noted that the number of deceased were more than the statistics which The Guild quoted.
The Deputy Governor Adebayo Lawal visited on of the hospitals where some injured children were taken and requested that the organizers turn themselves in for further questioning.
