Actor Femi Branch has expressed outrage over the arrest and remand of Queen Naomi Silekunola, Alhaji Oriyomi Hamzat, and Islamic High School principal Abdullahi Fasasi, following a tragic Christmas funfair incident that claimed the lives of 35 children.

On his social media platforms, Branch shared his thoughts, sympathising with the victims’ families but describing the charges against the event organisers as “nonsense.”

He questioned the basis for their arrest, noting that the funfair was scheduled to commence at 10 a.m., with security personnel expected at the venue by 8 a.m.

However, reports indicated that parents had begun throwing their children over the fence into the compound the night before.

The actor criticised the actions of these parents, accusing them of endangering their children’s lives and urging the police to hold them accountable rather than punishing the organisers.

Branch defended Queen Naomi and Oriyomi Hamzat, stating that they intended to bless the community through the event.

He argued that their arrest set a “terrible precedent” and called on the public to stand against what he described as an injustice.

He demanded the immediate release of the organisers and prosecution of the parents who contributed to the chaos by throwing their children over the fence.

“I want to believe they have very good lawyers because this case is nonsense. This is not me being insensitive to the plight of the children who died; it is very tragic. But if the purpose is to punish those responsible for the death, how is it the organisers? Let’s look at the facts on the ground. The event was supposed to start by 10 am; the security personnel were supposed to arrive by 8.

“The venue was locked and wasn’t meant to be opened until the security personnel arrived by 8 for an event that was supposed to start by 10. From the reports we have, people came overnight; they started arriving overnight and began throwing their children over the fence and into the compound. I saw a very tragic incident where, as the mother threw her child over the fence, the child hit their head and died instantly. So how is this the fault of the organisers?

“Is it a problem to do good in this country right now because we are dealing with so much, and a few people try once in a while with the little God has blessed them with to help people’s lives? This situation can happen to anybody. We understand the root cause of this matter is that there’s hunger in the land, but is it hunger that will make you endanger the life of your child? Throwing your child over a fence? How bad is that hunger? I think we’re sick; we’re not well as a people.

“And now the poor organisers who are trying to be a blessing are arrested and charged to court. What is going on? Don’t tell me you’re just trying to make an example of them. To what end exactly? We need to be careful because we’re setting a very terrible precedent. I think people need to speak up about this. Why have the police not fished out those parents who threw their children over the fence and also charged them? Because, as far as I’m concerned, those are the real offenders.

“These people should be set free; they should be released and let those parents who threw their children over the fence be arrested and prosecuted; those are the real offenders.”