STOP Parading Yourselves In Oba Regalia Or We Will ARREST You – Ekiti Govt To Traditional Chiefs

Category: Nigeria News

Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, has warned that any traditional chief or honorary chief who parades himself in the regalia of an Oba will be arrested and prosecuted by the state government to preserve the sanctity of the traditional institution.

Egbeyemi said the riot act became necessary to curb unauthorized use of crowns and beaded walking sticks by palace chiefs in some communities in the state.

According to a statement by his Special Assistant (Media), Odunayo Ogunmola, the deputy governor handed down the warning during a peace meeting with the Olohan of Erijiyan Ekiti, Oba Adegoroye Omoseebi, and interest groups over alleged threat to law and order.

The state government summoned the peace meeting following a petition from the monarch that one of his chiefs, the Oba Odo of Erijiyan, Chief Boluwaji Adewumi, has been parading himself with the paraphernalia of a monarch including the use of crown and beaded stick within and outside the state.

Speaking after he was provided photographs of Adewumi with a crown on his head and holding a beaded walking stick, the Deputy Governor said he would have ordered the immediate arrest of the chief but had to give him the last warning and an opportunity to reconcile with the Olohan.

Otunba Egbeyemi said Adewumi’s action was a clear violation of the State Chiefs Law by using the paraphernalia of a monarch which attracts a sentence of six months imprisonment upon conviction.

The Deputy Governor said cases of unauthorized use of crowns and beaded walking sticks have been reported to the state government in the recent past saying such acts are capable of causing chaos and anarchy in the state.