A two time governorship aspirant in Edo State and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, High Chief Jacob Egietseme Idinye has joined his voice with other well meaning Nigerians to appeal for the immediate release of ex-wife of the Ooni of Ife, in the ongoing legal battle over a tragic stampede in Ibadan.
It is recalled that Silekunola, alongside Oriyomi Hamzat, the CEO of Agidigbo FM, and Fasasi Abdullahi, the principal of the Islamic High School, have all been remanded in custody by an Ibadan magistrate court on Tuesday, December 24.
The defendants face a four-count charge of conspiracy, negligent acts causing harm, and failure to ensure adequate security and medical provisions at the event. The incident happened last Wednesday, December 28, during a funfair organised by Silekunola at the Islamic High School in Ibadan.
The event, which aimed to cater to 5,000 people, turned tragic when an unfortunate stampede claimed the lives of over 35 people, mostly children.
In a statement released Friday afternoon by Idinye, a winner of over 32 different professional awards locally and internationally in Maritime Reporting and Customs activities, he commended Silekunola’s penchant for humanitarian and charitable causes and noted that concerned authorities should look at her motive and not the unfortunate accident that eroded her good intentions.
He added that Silekunola had organized similar socio-economic empowerment initiatives in the past without occurrence of any negative incidents stressing that lots of beneficiaries who benefited from her laudable gestures, benevolence and kindness for remembering the vulnerable segments of the society are known to always pray for her.
“Silekunola, alongside Oriyomi Hamzat, the CEO of Agidigbo FM, and Fasasi Abdullahi, the principal of the Islamic High School, all need our support, prayers and concerted efforts to get them out of their current predicaments. We all knew that the three of them had good intentions to give to the vulnerable Nigerians, but unfortunately their good intentions worked against them by no fault of theirs.
“This is simply a reflection of hunger in the land.
“Rather than holding Naomi and others solely responsible for the unfortunate deaths of children in Ibadan, the government should by now realize that hunger is real in the country.
“Similar deaths in the FCT and Anambra has shown that our government needs to look at the effect of hunger in the land and put in workable measures that can help to mitigate it by ensuring availability of food to Nigerians. Or was it Naomi that organized the event in other locations? Why has the government not brought the organizers in the FCT and Anambra State to the book?
“From the information I even gathered, the large crowd had gathered at the venue long before the event was scheduled to begin. Honestly, Naomi is innocent. She went to the police station herself to show how remorseful and innocent she is. Naomi and others are not supposed to be in prison, I deeply feel their pains too. They are not murderers. As an individual who believes in sanctity of life I also empathize with the families that lost their loved ones in the incident, and I pray that all the lives lost would rest in perfect peace.
“I thereby appeal to all concerned stakeholders in this critical matter to please work out ways these well intentioned individuals can be immediately released; their continued detention will no doubt discourage others from philanthropy. I view the step taken by the Oyo State government was harsh and too hasty and should be relaxed forthwith ”, the statement said.
