Worried over
last Monday’s stabbing to death of the monarch of Odo Oro Ekiti in Ikole Local
Government Area of the state, Oba Gbadebo Ogunsakin and other traditional
rulers in Ekiti State have pleaded passionately with the Ekiti state government
to help them beef up security in their various palaces.
Acting under
the aegies of “Majority Obas of Ekiti”, the category of obas, who are made up
of Third Class rulers and others with lesser grades, gave the appeal when they
paid sympathy visit to the town which had remained in mourning mood since the
incident took place last week Monday.
Owojela’s
Blog reports that the rulers were led by the Olowa of Odo Owa Ekiti, Oba
Ayomide Oyedeji, describing the way and manner their colleague was killed as
shocking, unfortunate and worrisome.
According to
them, the perpetrator of the crime would probably have not found it easy to
carry out the crime if the palace had been fortified by armed security men,
complimenting local guards.
Though they
acnowledged that government had always accorded priority to their welfare and
wellbeing, they believe that beefing up security in the palaces would be an
added advantage, especially considering the unprecedented attack on the palace
of the deceased king by his killer.
The
traditional rulers also urged residents of the various communities to be
security conscious and proactive by not leaving the job of watching over the
palaces to security officials alone.
Owojela’s
Blog reports that the Odo Oro Ekiti community was thrown into mourning last
Monday as a 40-year old suspect with a royal background, Omoniyi Ademola, who
was initially said to be mental unstable, entered the palace unchallenged and
stabbed the traditional ruler to death.
He has since
been arrested and paraded by the state police command, as investigations
continue.
The suspect,
Omoniyi has owned up to the crime, though he said killing the Oba was done in
error as he only retaliated when the deceased first attacked him, saying he
never knew he would die in the process.
As of the
time of filing this report, normal commercial activies in the town still
remained at the lowest ebb as markets were shut as a mark of honour for the
late Oba who ascended the throne in 1986, and described by many as well loved
by his subjects.
Comments