Ibadan Stampede: Holding Charge Used To Detain Hamzat Oriyomi, Naomi, School Principal Is Unknown To Law —Lawyer

Adekunle Sobaloju (SAN), counsel for Mr Hamzat Oriyomi, has argued that the Oyo State Government has no legal justification to detain his client and other defendants arrested over a deadly stampede that occurred at a children’s funfair in Ibadan.

Mr Hamzat was arrested along with Ooni of Ife’s ex-wife, Naomi Silekunola and Islamic School Principal, Abdullahi Fasasi, over the stampede that occurred at Islamic High School, Bashorun.

At least 35 children were confirmed dead during the tragedy.

Mr. Hamzat and his co-defendants submitted bail applications to the Oyo State High Court on Tuesday. However, after considering arguments from both the prosecution and the defence, the court adjourned the case until January 13, 2025, effectively delaying a decision on their bail requests.

The prosecution was led by the Attorney General of Oyo State, Biodun Aikomo.

Addressing journalists immediately after court proceedings on Tuesday, in a video obtained by SaharaReporters, Sobaloju said his client, Oriyomi had convincingly pleaded before the court to grant his bail pending proper arraignment.

He said his team also argued strongly before the court that the government has no legal backing to detain his client and others arrested over the deadly stampede.

He said: “Well, what we did was we filed an application that he should be admitted into 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.

“We are saying by law, they (the defendants) ought not to be arraigned by holding charge. That ordinarily, they should have followed the provision of the law, which is section 292 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), which says that they should not be detained or remanded in custody based on the holding charge.

“We have canvassed the points in court and it is for the court to deliver a considered ruling on it. It is for the court to decide (if their continued detention is legal or illegal). But for us, holding charge is unknown to the law.”

The court, on Tuesday, reserved its ruling on the bail applications filed by Naomi, Oriyomi and Fasasi.