A combined photo of Primate Ayodele and Naomi Silekunola
By Akeem Atoyebi
The Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has urged called the Federal Government to immediately release the organisers of the Ibadan children’s Christmas party, where a stampede led to the death of 35 children.
The organisers, Naomi Silekunola, the estranged wife of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, and the Chief Executive Officer of Agidigbo FM, Oriyomi Hamzat, were taken into custody in connection with the stampede.
On Saturday, Ayodele stated that the organisers acted in good faith to support the government by providing relief to the needy.
He dismissed alleged claims by a pastor, Marcus Tibetan that the sad incident was an orchestrated ritual by the organisers.
Describing Tibetan’s remarks as baseless, Ayodele said, “Oriyomi Hamzat and Naomi have not done anything wrong; they didn’t engage in any ritual as claimed by some pastors.
“Those pastors are the devil incarnates who have never contributed anything meaningful to humanity. These organisers cannot be blamed.”
Primate Ayodele urged the government to show compassion and release the organisers, acknowledging their efforts to alleviate the suffering of the masses.
“The government cannot do it alone. The organisers were only helping by reaching out to the downtrodden. They acted with pure hearts, and the government should temper justice with mercy and release them,” he said.
The cleric also sympathised with the families of the deceased children, even as he attributed the tragedy to parental negligence and harsh economic conditions in the country.
