The Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has lamented the unfortunate stampede which happened in Ibadan on Wednesday at a well-publisized Christmas funfair packaged by a named Organization for the children in celebration of the yuletide.
Reports, confirmed by the Oyo state government in the afternoon of Wednesday, had it that the inability of the organizers of the funfair to control the surging crowd of children and adults who had thronged the Islamic High School, Ibadan venue of the event resulted in a stampede which claimed the loss of about 32 children while an unspecified number of others sustained varying degrees of injury.
In a statement issued on Wednesday and made available to journalists in Ibadan by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, Oyo APC called on the state government to set up a high-powered panel to investigate the tragic incident with a view to identifying those believed to be culpable in the unfortunate death of the innocent kids as well as establishing the facts surrounding the sordid planning and execution of the event by the organizers.
“We are in deep sorrow as a result of the tragic incident which claimed many lives in Ibadan today. In any given circumstances, the loss of any innocent life attracts lamentations and regret as It became more saddening when it was realized that the ugly development could have been prevented it certain authorities had done the needful in the areas of surveillance, intelligence gathering and pro-activeness.
“While we are not going to preempt the Investigative Panel recommended for establishment by the state government over this particular matter, we call on Governor Seyi Makinde to ensure that justice is done to the numerous victims of the tragedy even as we sympathize with their parents and other family members.” APC concluded.
