Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church Primate Elijah Ayodele has condemned Prophet Marcus Tibetan for alleging that the tragic stampede at an Ibadan children’s Christmas party, which claimed the lives of 35 children, was a ritual orchestrated by its organisers.
The organisers — Naomi Silekunola, the former wife of the Ooni of Ife Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi and CEO of Agidigbo FM, Oriyomi Hamzat — were arrested, arraigned and remanded in connection to the incident.
In a statement on Friday signed by his media aide Osho Oluwatosin, Ayodele dismissed Tibetan’s allegations as baseless, emphasising that the organisers had no ill intentions.
He stated, “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.”
Ayodele argued that Naomi and Hamzat were simply trying to support the less privileged and urged the government to release them.
The cleric sympathised with the families of the deceased children, attributing the tragedy to a combination of parental negligence and the harsh economic conditions in the country.
Ayodele called on authorities to focus on preventing such occurrences in the future rather than penalising well-meaning citizens.
