Two Killed In Violence Over Oba’s Disapproval Of ‘Ogun’ Festival
Two persons were killed on Sunday when a group of angry youths attacked the palace of Oba Victor Bobade, the traditional ruler of Ire Ekiti, a town in Ekiti State.
The incident which occurred in the evening in Oye Local Government Area of the state is said to have forced the king to flee the town.
Channels Television gathered that violence erupted when the monarch refused to allow the people gather in their large number to celebrate the annual Ogun festival, a request the traditional ruler was contrary to COVID-19 protocols and government rules.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Ekiti, Sunday Abutu, confirmed the incident to Channels Television on Monday.
He also revealed that two persons lost their lives as a result of the violence, while the monarch decried that the irate youths set his property ablaze.
Oba Bobade condemned the incident and frowned at the action and ignorance of those involved in the violence.
“Coronavirus kills honourables, kills governors, kills whoever; I don’t know why my people will descend so low, they are daft.
“I sensitised them, but they just don’t want to know,” the traditional ruler told Channels Television in an interview.
He revealed that after the violence broke out, a team of policemen deployed to calm the situation could not contain it.
Oba Bobade noted that the security operatives, however, succeeded in whisking him away to safety.
He said, “In my residence, they came there but couldn’t find me anyway, but I was in there. They started throwing stones, breaking everything breakable in the palace.
“They destroyed everything, including the vehicle of the policemen. I had to break a fence before those policemen on the ground could find their way to escape.”
In his reaction, the Chairman of the State Task Force on COVID-19, Professor Bolaji Aluko, condemned the incident, stating that the relevant authorities would swing into action to restore normalcy to the town.
The “Ogun” festival which is linked to a god of iron has been the major festival celebrated by the people of Ire Ekiti as history has it that the valiant Ogun immortalised himself in the town.
