Oyo court grants Ooni’s ex-queen Naomi, Hamzat, principal N10m bail

An Oyo State High Court has granted bail to an ex-queen of the Ooni of Ife, Naomi Silekunola, Oriyomi Hamzat, a broadcaster and the Chief Executive Officer, Agidigbo Radio FM, Ibadan, and Abdulahi Fasasi, the Principal of Islamic High School

Justice K.B. Olawoyin, who presided over Court 8, made the ruling after the trio’s counsel filed a bail application.

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

Other conditions are that the applicants must deposit their international passports with the court and they are barred from granting any form of interview during the pendency of the case.

The defendants were kept in prison custody since December 24, following their arrest by the police.

The Oyo State Government had filed eight counts bordering on murder and manslaughter against the trio over the December 18, 2024 funfair stampede, during which 35 children died.

In the counts, the government accused the defendants of “conspiracy to commit a felony to wit: murder, manslaughter, conspiracy to commit an offence to wit: criminal negligence, and criminal negligence.”

While addressing journalists, Oriyomi’s counsel, Adekunle Sobaloju, disclosed that the court had agreed to a bail application

Sobaloju said, “Well, what we did was we filed an application that he should be admitted to bail pending arraignment, and the application was argued today.

“The court listened to all the various arguments and the ruling was reserved till the 13th of January. So principally, we are saying that he ought to be admitted on bail based on certain grounds, which I would not want to expatiate on here.”