Funmilayo Ogunseyi, mother of Prophetess Naomi Silekunola, former wife of the Ooni of Ife Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has said her daughter is on hunger strike in prison.
Silekunola is at the Agodi correctional facility in Ibadan after a Chief Magistrate’s Court sitting in Iyaganku, Ibadan on Tuesday ordered that she and others should be remanded over the deadly stampede which occurred on December 18 at a Christmas funfair at Islamic High School, Bashorun, Ibadan.
The funfair was organised by Silekunola’s foundation Women in Need of Guidance and Support (WINGS) in partnership with Agidigbo FM.
According to the police, 35 minors died in the stampede while six others were critically injured.
The magistrate ordered that Silekunola, the founder and chief executive officer of Agidigbo FM, Oriyomi Hamzat; and principal of Islamic High School, Abdullahi Fasasi, should be remanded till January 13 for legal advice from the Oyo State director of public prosecutions.
The defendants are facing a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, murder and negligent acts causing harm.
Speaking with PUNCH in an interview published on Saturday, Mrs Ogunseyi explained her daughter’s condition the last time she visited her.
“She wasn’t feeling fine. She wasn’t happy about the whole incident. She loves children. The queen loves and helps children, single mothers, old women, and widows. She is still in pain that those children lost their lives because her intention was pure.
“Organising this kind of event to help people is what she has been doing for years. She used to buy clothes for children at Christmas. She has emaciated in the custodial facility. She has refused to eat.
“When I was there yesterday (Thursday), I persuaded her. She still did not eat. The place was not comfortable for her. She was sad about the children losing their lives,” she said.
Ogunseyi recently made a video posted on social media where she begged Nigerians for help in securing her daughter’s release from prison.
Asked if her family had contacted Oba Ogunwusi for help in the matter, she said: “I cannot answer that question directly because it’s like a family matter. We are still in-laws. So, I know the palace must have been trying its best to make sure everything is controlled amicably.
“We don’t even need to tell him that he should do this because the person in question is the mother of the child to the Ooni of Ife. So, I know he wouldn’t want his wife to be in prison. I want to believe he is trying his best to make sure she is not in prison.”
