A first class monarch in Ekiti State, the Onire of Ire-Ekiti, Oba Bobade Adeleke and his Chiefs have faulted a story trending on social media that he arrested a man said to have confessed to stealing a bag of rice in the palace, calling on police to dig into the matter.
At the weekly meeting of the Onire-in-council which was held on (Friday January 20) at his palace, the Kabiyesi expressed dissatisfaction about a report making rounds on social media where he was alleged to have ordered for the prosecution of one Tope Fasakin over the vandalization of the palace which he openly confessed to.
Explaining what transpired regarding the matter, one of the Chiefs, the Arowa of Ire Ekiti, Chief Francis Agbetuyi, considered the report as a blatant lie .
According to him, “few months ago the guy (Fasakin) came here to confess that he led those who broke into the palace to kill Kabiyesi’s pets as well as stealing a bag of rice which had since been eaten. On that day, kabiyesi only prayed for him and asked his parents to take him to spiritual homes for proper attention.”
Another Chief, the Oloja Egbe of Ire Ekiti, Chief Lasisi Aregbesola who confirmed the story as narrated by Chief Agbetuyi, said further that “the only person who was reported to the police upon advice was one Adebanji Elijah who came to the palace on another day to confess that he stole Kabiyesi’s licenced gun.”
Addressing journalists over the matter, the monarch said “I don’t have Facebook account but it was my lawyer who drew my attention to it. Ordinarily, my intention was to ignore it but when the entire Chiefs read it, they were not happy about the lie because they believed that was how the crisis that engulfed the town two years ago started.”
The Asaba of keleju, Chief Adeyinka Adelabu, urged Facebook handlers and bloggers to refrain from unconfirmed reports which could tarnish the royal institution.
Speaking about the incident, Oba Bobade said, “I’m not aware of any arrest of the guy who stole rice because he came to confess in the palace last year ago and was released to go home for treatment. As for the man who stole my licensed gun, I had to report him to the police being a criminal issue moreso that he confessed to have sold the gun to someone who had also sold it to another person. I reported because they might use the gun to perpetrate criminal act and it will be traced to me since I’m the one having all the papers relating to the gun.”
It would be recalled that two years ago, there was a wild protest in Ire-Ekiti in which two people were reportedly killed over the celebration of Ogun festival. The Kabiyesi, acting on the instruction of the then Governor not to allow the gathering of people during coronavirus lockdown, asked his people to have a low-key celebration but it didn’t go down well with them. Curfew was imposed in the town for months and the palace was burnt down while Kabiyesi had to stay away from the palace for a long time.