A Nigerian pastor, Revd Harrison Ayintete, reacted to a tragedy at the funfair conducted by Ooni of Ife’s ex-wife, Prophetess Naomi Silekunola Ogunswusi, on Wednesday, December 18, 2024.
Queen Naomi, who recently celebrated her son’s fourth birthday, organised a children’s party at the Islamic High School Bashorun in Ibadan, Oyo state.
The mother of one was set to feed about 5000 children from ages 0 to 13 years across Oyo state.
However, a stampede occurred when the kids rushed to get gifts from the organisers, leading to the death of some.
Pastor reacts to Ibadan stampede
Speaking about the stampede, Ayintete said charity events should be well organised to avoid such incidents because the country’s level of hunger was high.
He blamed the situation on the poverty that has ravished the nation.
Ayintete said in a Facebook post:
“In this season, at this time, with the level of hunger in town, oh, charity has to be well planned. If possible, it can be virtual. It’s so sad!! Ha!! See what poverty has done in Nigeria.
“Sometimes, you read the news and a layer of your humanity is just eroded because you have to continue your life as though nothing happened. In a bid to get food, kids were crushed to death!! Life is such a delicate place!!”
Reactions trail pastor’s view on stampede in Ibadan
@Adewale Omotayo said:
“It’s such a sad event and I believe it happened because of poor crowd management by the organisers.”
@Oyewola Taiwo Margret said:
“May God have mercy on us.”
Police arrest Ooni’s ex-wife and school principal
Legit previously reported that Oyo State Police have arrested Naomi Silekunola over the deadly stampede during a children’s carnival on December 18.
Mr Abdullahi Fasasi, principal of Islamic High School, has also been invited and detained for questioning.
The stampede at the children’s carnival led to multiple deaths, with investigations underway to determine the cause and responsibility.
