“We Are Still In-Laws, I Know He Wouldn’t Want His Wife In Prison” – Former Queen Naomi’s Mother on Ooni’s Efforts In Her Travails

Mrs. Funmilayo Ogunseyi, the mother of the former queen of Ile-Ife, Naomi Silekunola, has expressed strong faith in the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, intervening in her daughter’s current travails....CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE➤

“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,” Mrs. Ogunseyi said when asked if she had reached out to Ooni Ogunwusi regarding the situation.

Speaking with The Punch on Saturday, she added, “…We are still in-laws. So, I know the palace must have been trying its best to make sure everything is controlled amicably.”

The ex-queen, who sensationally announced her separation from the revered traditional ruler on Thursday, December 23, 2021, is currently remanded at Agodi Prison over alleged culpability in a funfair-turned-tragedy.

Thirty-five children lost their lives in a stampede that occurred during a funfair organized by her NGO at Islamic High School, Basorun, in Ibadan, Oyo State, on December 18, 2024.

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State declared that anyone remotely connected with the heartbreaking incident “will be held accountable.”

Naomi Silekunola Ogunseyi, Hamzat Oriyomi—the owner of Agidigbo FM, which partnered with her NGO for the ill-fated funfair—and the principal of Islamic High School were arrested and charged to court on Tuesday, December 24, 2024.

They were remanded at Agodi Prison, with the case adjourned to January 13, 2025.

Mrs. Ogunseyi granted the interview with The Punch as an open plea to stakeholders to intervene in her daughter’s plight and ensure her release from prison.