Ibadan Tragedy Update: Oyo State Govt Withdraws Criminal Charges Against Ooni’s Ex-Wife And Others

Oyo State Government has withdrawn all criminal charges against Naomi Silekunola, former wife of the Ooni of Ife; Oriyomi Hamzat, owner of Agidigbo FM; and Abdullahi Fasasi, principal of Islamic High School, Bashorun, Ibadan.

Confirming the development, Oyo State Attorney General Abiodun Aikomo explained the rationale behind the court’s decision.

He said, “It was an unfortunate incident that led to the death of many. And you see, in law, whenever death occurs and the circumstances are not natural, the law will take its course.

So the state responded by filing charges against the persons implicated in the investigation.

“In the course of doing that, we wanted to prosecute, but the affected persons showed empathy.

They showed compassion. And as far as human beings can do, they try to persuade the feelings of the affected parties.

And the circumstance, we felt, the essence of prosecution is not to kill people or persecute them.

“It is in the interest of justice to discontinue these charges, and that is what happened today. So we withdrew the charge and it was struck out by the court.

There is no charge against them again, so they are free.”

Recall that in December, Naomi alongside Oriyomi Hazmat, had organized an event to feed the less privileged.

Unfortunately, the event led to the death of over 32 children which was caused by a stampede.

The former Queen was arrested alongside Hazmat and was arraigned on a four-count charge of conspiracy, acceleration of death, negligent acts causing harm, and failure to provide adequate security and medical facilities.

In January, the Oyo State Government had filed an 18-count criminal charges against the trio.

They were accused of offenses including conspiracy to commit murder, manslaughter, criminal negligence, and other related charges.

The charge sheet said they failed to provide adequate security, crowd control mechanisms, and medical facilities during the ill-fated funfair event held at the Islamic High School.

The trio was later granted bail by an Oyo State High Court.

The judge gave five conditions for the bail, including N10 million and two sureties who must submit landed documents within the court’s jurisdiction.

They must deposit their international passports with the court and be barred from granting any form of interview during the pendency of the case.