Bouncer Used Tear Gas on Children at Edo Children's Day Stampede

A stampede at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City during Edo State's Children's Day celebration on Wednesday left several pupils injured, after a bouncer deployed tear gas on a crowd of excited students pushing to enter the venue. The Edo State Government has confirmed that an investigation into the incident is underway, and that the bouncer involved is currently being questioned by police.

The government's account of what happened was delivered by Dr. Patrick Ebojele, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Monday Okpebholo.

According to Ebojele, thousands of students from schools across the state turned out for the event in numbers he described as unparalleled. At one of the stadium's entrances, the crowd of eager children became difficult to manage. A bouncer, faced with the surge, responded by deploying tear gas to disperse the students. What followed was chaos. Children ran, fell, and were injured in the crush.

Let that sit for a moment. Tear gas. On children. At a Children's Day celebration.

Whatever crowd management challenges existed at that entrance, the decision to use tear gas on a group of excited schoolchildren is not a defensible crowd control response. It is the kind of decision that turns a logistical problem into a crisis, and that is exactly what happened.

Ebojele confirmed that some children sustained injuries during the chaos. Those requiring additional medical attention were transported to the Edo Specialist Hospital, where they received treatment. He stated that they are now returning home safely with their families. State Deputy Governor Dennis Idahosa, who was present at the stadium, reportedly began administering first aid to affected children on the spot.

The government has been careful with its language throughout. Ebojele described the crowd surge as causing "a kind of stampede," framed the bouncer's tear gas deployment as a response to that surge, and characterized the entire incident as an exceptional occurrence at large gatherings. He also urged social media users not to spread unconfirmed information that could cause unnecessary panic.

That last point is worth addressing directly. Asking the public not to spread misinformation is reasonable. But the government's own account confirms that a bouncer used tear gas on children at a state-organized event, that a stampede occurred, and that children were hospitalized. The concern about panic should not become a reason to minimize what actually happened.

Investigations are ongoing. The bouncer is in police custody for questioning. The government says the incident will not diminish Governor Okpebholo's commitment to child welfare, pointing to his administration's investment in education as the reason so many students attended in the first place.

That framing is a stretch. High attendance is not what caused children to be tear-gassed. A decision made by a bouncer at an entrance caused that.

Children's Day is meant to be one of the most straightforward events on any state government's calendar. It is a celebration, not a security operation. The fact that it ended with hospitalized students and a police investigation into crowd control conduct is a failure that deserves honest examination, not management.

The children who were hurt that day did nothing wrong. They were just excited to show up.