Several students were rushed to the Edo Specialist Hospital on Wednesday after the Children’s Day celebration turned chaotic at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium.
Reports indicate that many students fainted during the event organised by the Ministry of Education, following a stampede triggered by pepper spray deployed by some bouncers at the venue.
The bouncers reportedly sprayed the substance following “unruly behaviour” by some male students towards female students during the celebration.
The male students, said to be from Ihogbe College, reportedly made uncompromising advances towards female students at the venue, a development that attracted the attention of bouncers stationed at the stadium, who rebuked them.
However, the rebuked students later regrouped and attacked the bouncers, leading to a confrontation within the crowded area.
In a bid to bring the situation under control, one of the bouncers deployed pepper spray in an area occupied by a large number of students, leading to some students reportedly fainting after inhaling the substance.
Following the incident, students, teachers and parents scampered for safety, leading to many injuries.
In a video from the incident seen by TheCable, several students affected by the pepper spray were seen lying on the floor at the waiting wing of the hospital as nurses attended to them after they were rushed to the facility in an ambulance.
Confirming the incident to journalists, Patrick Ebojele, chief press secretary to the governor, said the man who used the pepper spray has been detained.
Ebojele, however, said all the students, except two, who were rushed to the hospital, have been discharged.
“The two students are not seriously injured. Doctors want to observe them overnight. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education is still at the hospital. The man who used pepper spray has been detained,” he said.
