The annual children’s day celebration in Edo State took a distressing turn on Wednesday as an unexpected stampede and chemical exposure left scores of young students hospitalized.
The event, which was meant to celebrate the youths of the state at the Ogbe Stadium in Benin City, devolved into absolute pandemonium when a severe crowd management failure triggered immediate panic among the children and teachers in attendance.
Initial panic quickly swept through the sports complex when a private security bouncer deployed a highly irritating gas substance in an attempt to handle an unruly, surging crowd of attendees.
The direct release of the chemical irritant instantly compromised the air quality within the immediate vicinity, causing numerous students to suffer from severe gas inhalation, acute respiratory distress, and sudden physical collapse.
Medical emergency teams and security officials rushed into action as the atmosphere turned hostile, with frightened children running for safety while others slumped to the ground due to the overwhelming fumes.
In the thick of the chaos, flying objects added to the danger, leaving at least one student with a severe head wound from a stray stone thrown during the commotion.
Edo State Deputy Governor, Dennis Idahosa, who was present at the stadium, immediately took charge of the initial emergency response, providing critical first aid to some of the affected victims on-site before coordinates were made to move them to medical facilities.
More than fifty school children were subsequently evacuated and rushed to the Edo Specialist Hospital in Benin City for urgent medical attention.
Hospital authorities worked rapidly to stabilize the young victims, most of whom were treated for standard inhalation injuries and complications from the stampede.
While the vast majority of the students responded well to treatment and were discharged within hours, two children were held by the hospital for overnight observation, and one critically injured child remains under intensive care in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
State authorities have moved quickly to address the fallout of the incident and douse escalating public tension. The private bouncer responsible for deploying the irritant has been arrested by law enforcement, and Governor Monday Okpebholo has ordered a full-scale administrative investigation into the security breaches that ruined the state event.
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