How offer of free food led to deadly crush at Nigerian Christmas fair

The dusty high-school football field that was supposed to be the scene of some pre-Christmas joy on Wednesday now echoes with the memories of a tragedy.

It was here that 35 children died that morning, killed in a crush after thousands turned up on the promise of free food.

Children's sandals, torn books and broken desks litter the compound of the Islamic High School in Bashorun, a suburb of Ibadan in south-western Nigeria.

The everyday objects, abandoned in panic, serve as an eerie reminder of who was lost.

The chance to spread some cheer in these economically straitened times must have seemed like a good idea to those behind what was advertised as a funfair.

The organisers - a local radio station along with a charity belonging to Queen Naomi Ogunwusi, the ex-wife of the Ooni of Ife, a revered traditional monarch – reportedly said they would distribute food parcels to the first 5,000 who turned up.

Some families travelled up to 90 minutes and arrived before sunrise on Wednesday so as not to miss out.

"Some people slept at the school gate a night before the event because they wanted to be among the first 5,000 that would be given access to the carnival. Before 06:30, the venue had recorded the estimated number," said Lanre Kadiri, the zonal coordinator of Nigeria's Emergency Management Agency.

Bashorun residents told the BBC the crowd soon exceeded 5,000 with many attempting to force their way through the school gate. Parents are said to have tried to scale the fence surrounding the compound to gain access.

Within hours, pandemonium reportedly swept through the crowd and some of the children got knocked down in the ensuing frenzy.

One local, Olumide Adeniyi, turned up at 09:00 to see what was going on.

On his phone he recorded a bereft woman screaming that her child had died.

"I'm finished. Why did I even come here?" she cried while standing at the school gate.

"A man came to the carnival with two children. He told me one had died while the other was being treated in a nearby hospital for injuries," Mr Adeniyi said.

The organisers are now in police custody. The police allege that they were not informed about the event and were not able to advise on the crowd control and safety measures.

But people here seem reluctant to point the finger of blame as they believe the funfair and the plan for the charity handouts were put together in good faith.

President Bola Tinubu has ordered an investigation.

"Our children's safety and well-being remain paramount. No event should ever compromise their safety or take precedence over their lives," he said.

But the poverty levels in Nigeria may mean that such events will happen again.

Food and transportation costs have more than tripled in Nigeria in the last 18 months. The global bout of inflation has been exacerbated by some of the policies of the government – designed to strengthen the economy in the long term – such as ending a fuel subsidy.

"People are suffering. It's because of the situation of the country. It is the hunger that made them come out en masse like that," Mr Adeniyi said.

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