By Ayodele Oni
The Chief Medical Director, Edo Specialist Hospital, Dr Anthonia Njoku, has clarified the social media reports alleging that five pupils died during the Children’s Day celebration at the Samuel Ogbemudia stadium on Wednesday.
Njoku made the clarification on Thursday in Benin, while addressing newsmen.
There was commotion at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City on Wednesday after several students reportedly collapsed following the alleged discharge of pepper spray by a bouncer during the 2026 Children’s Day celebration in Edo State.
The incident was said to have occurred after some male students allegedly made inappropriate advances toward female students at the event, which was organised for school children across the state.
Eyewitnesses said the situation became rowdy when a member of a private security outfit attempted to intervene and rebuke the students over their conduct.
The students were said to have regrouped and allegedly attacked the bouncer, who in response sprayed pepper spray into the crowd, affecting several other students in the process.
Further details revealed that many students, particularly female students, reportedly collapsed after inhaling the substance, causing panic at the stadium.
Some of the affected students were immediately rushed to the Edo Specialist Hospital for medical treatment.
The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Monday Okpebholo Patrick Akhere Ebojele in a statement on Thursday, quoted the medical director as saying that “Yesterday, we were called in for an emergency response and we responded swiftly and appropriately to some of the children who were evacuated by our ambulance to our facility.
“Resuscitation measures started immediately and to God be the glory, we have no casualty, the children are all stable and we want to thank our governor for his continuous support”, she said.
Speaking on why the children were seen on the floor of the hospital, Njoku explained that they placed them on the floor for an effective resuscitation which some of the children needed.
“You needed to put some of these children on hard surfaces to be able to resuscitate them, that’s why we even have some of them on the floor, our goal at that point was to make sure that there was no casualty.
“We want to use this medium to thank our able governor for his passion for children”, she added.
In her response, the coordinator, office of the First Lady of Edo, Mrs Edesili Okpebholo Anani, noted that she was at the hospital on a fact finding mission concerning the incident that happened during the Children’s Day celebration.
“I have had a conversation with the CMD, the children are fine and they have been discharged and we are happy, I want to thank the management of the hospital for their swift response.
“The governor would have loved to be here, but he is out for other official engagement, he had directed that I should come on my fact finding mission to see what is happening”, she said.
She, however, described what happened during the Children’s Day celebration as unfortunate, but the good news was that response came fast, adding that safety of our children remains the priority of this administration.
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