By Editor
Palpable tension now mounts in Ijesa-Isu Ekiti over the alleged controversial appointment of new monarch for the sleepy community
This followed an allegation made by the Regent of the town, Princess Omobolaji Adeniyi, that she was physically assaulted and barred from the palace.
The unfortunate incident signified a strange twist in the protracted crisis over the selection of a new monarch for the community.
Crisis broke out in the town according to various sources in the town after the Ekiti State Government announced the approval of a new Obanla, which sharply polarized the town as the decision is currently being challenged in the court by aggrieved contestants.
It was gathered that the development has further inflamed widespread discontents with many accusing influential figures of undermining traditional sanctity and overstepping their authority.
According to community sources, the latest episode was triggered by concerns raised by the Regent regarding actions she believed would destabilize the town during the transition.
Speaking on the ordeal, Princess Adeniyi alleged that security operatives humiliated her and blocked her access to the palace while she attempted to retrieve her personal belongings.
She described the experience as a painful betrayal of her years of selfless service, noting that she had put her personal life on hold to ensure the town’s stability following the passing of the previous monarch.
The Regent explained that she had been receiving medical treatment in Ado-Ekiti when she heard the news of the new appointment.
She claimed that despite her state of health, she had not received any official notice to vacate the Palace, but she met a big surprise on her return trip to the palace the following day to pack her personal effects from the palace only to meet operatives of Agro-Marshal and the Amotekun Corps who subjected her to harassment and allegedly beat up her driver.
Princess Adeniyi further asserted that it took the intervention of the Department of State Services before she was permitted to remove her clothes and items inherited from her late father.
In a similar vein, the embattled Regent accused the Chairman of Kajola LCDA, Hon. Ojo Ajayi, of orchestrating the lockout, a claim the Chairman categorically denied.
Ajayi who described the allegation as false and misleading, but insisted that he never issued orders for the Regent’s removal or directed security personnel to prevent her from moving her property.
As of the time of this report, the chieftaincy dispute remains unresolved even as stakeholders and we’ll meaning elders of the town have been calling for restraint and a return to due process to prevent the situation from escalating into further communal unrest.
