Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has prayed to God to vindicate his former queen, Naomi Silekunola, over the stampede that claimed the lives of 35 children during a Christmas funfair she organised in Ibadan, Oyo State, on December 4.
Oba Ogunwusi exonerated his former wife, stating that she had no ill intent to harm the children or other participants of the programme.
He emphasised that the event was organised with the sincere goal of bringing happiness to less fortunate children.
Silekunola, the owner of Agidigbo FM in Ibadan, Alhaji Oriyomi Hamzat, and Abdulahi Fasasi, the Principal of Islamic High School in Bashorun, Ibadan, where the event took place, are facing a four-count charge.
The charges include conspiracy, causing death by negligence, endangering public safety, and failing to provide adequate security and medical facilities during the event.
On December 24, 2024, an Ibadan Magistrate’s Court ordered the trio to be remanded in prison in connection with the case.
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Similarly, when the case was presented before Justice K.B. Olawoyin of the State High Court in Ibadan on Tuesday, he denied the defendants’ request for bail.
Justice Olawoyin postponed the decision on the bail applications until Monday, January 13, 2025.
Since the start of the case, the ex-queen’s supporters have been appealing to Oba Ogunwusi to step in and ensure her release.
Some supporters have criticised the Ooni, accusing him of not taking enough action to prevent the imprisonment of his former wife.
However, the monarch clarified that he could not intervene in the matter beyond praying for the ex-queen, emphasising that only God and the court have the authority to determine her outcome.
The Ooni made the statement through his Chief Press Secretary, Otunba Moses Olafare, during an interview with Saturday PUNCH on Friday.
He said, “The case is before the court. We cannot interfere with the court process; we will wait for the court’s outcome, and we will not take any step that will jeopardise the court’s process on the matter. We hope she will eventually be exonerated. We don’t know what the court has for her.
“The only thing we can do for her now is to pray to God to vindicate her, and the Ooni, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi believes God will vindicate her because she had good intentions for the programme. She has always cared for children, especially the underprivileged, even when she was in the palace. Nobody ever died during such events when she organised them in the past.
“She must have organised about three or four editions while at the palace, and nobody died. We understand she had been doing it even before she came to the palace and continued doing it after leaving the palace. The Ibadan edition is not the first children’s programme she has held since leaving the palace.
“Based on that, we are wishing her well and praying that God grants her justice. God will vindicate her. We believe she must have acted in good conscience. Nobody organises an event intending to harm people. We at the palace wish her well and pray for her eventual exoneration.”
via: Information Nigeria
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