Media personality Oriyomi Hamzat has broken his silence on the tragic stampede that occurred at a funfair event in Ibadan, shifting the blame to the parents for the chaos that led to casualties. Speaking in a detailed recount of the incident, Hamzat defended Prophetess Naomi, the event’s organizer, and highlighted the various challenges encountered during the preparation and execution of the program, which ultimately led to the devastating event.
In his statement, Hamzat revealed that he visited the venue the day before the event to personally inspect arrangements, emphasizing the importance of ensuring proper security and ticketing procedures were in place. He shared how he insisted on printing 5,500 tickets to manage the expected crowd, acknowledging that Ibadan's audience might behave differently from other locations where the event had previously been held. Despite his preparations, however, things quickly spiraled out of control on the event day.
Hamzat went on to describe how, by 4 a.m. on the day of the event, parents were already gathering at the venue, despite the program being scheduled to start at 10 a.m. He criticized the actions of these parents, particularly the reckless behavior of mothers who began throwing their children over the fence long before the event was set to begin. Hamzat questioned how Prophetess Naomi could be blamed for such reckless actions, which ultimately led to the tragedy.
Oriyomi Hamzat on Ibadan Stampede Tragedy
“A day before the funfair, I went to inspect the venue to ensure that all the necessary things were in place. Prophetess Naomi was there, and she said the place was more spacious than the place they had initially wanted to use. I asked her about the security arrangements, and she assured me that the security would be there by 8 a.m. I told her and the team that Ibadan is different from other places they have been using, so I promised to provide 200 boys to assist with ticket distribution for the children. Initially, there were no plans to use tickets.”
“I arranged for 5,500 tickets to be printed, and the following day, I arrived at the venue at about 5:45 a.m. By then, the place was already crowded, and all roads leading to the venue were blocked. I saw mothers throwing their children over the fence. The event was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., and security personnel were supposed to be there by 8 a.m. I immediately began begging the crowd to disperse and go home, but they refused to listen.”
“By 5:45 a.m., over 2,000 mothers had already thrown their children over the fence, and I was informed that they had been doing so since 4 a.m. Even though we were expecting 5,000 children, Naomi had rented 7,000 chairs because I had advised her to make provisions for the mothers bringing their children. The stampede began at 7 a.m. when a woman shared that she had thrown her son over the fence, thinking someone would catch him, but tragically, the child hit his head on the ground and died on the spot. Another woman brought 19 children to the event, having gathered them from her neighbors. HOW CAN IT BE NAOMI’S FAULT THAT PARENTS WERE THROWING THEIR KIDS?”
