By; OLADELE ADEDAYO, Ado-Ekiti
A mammoth crowd on Thursday embarked on protest Thursday seeking continued incarceration of the Ganiyu Obasoyin,the Olukere of Ikere-Ekiti.
Recall that Obasoyin was arrested and remanded in prison for the alleged murder of one Femi Koade, a toilet attendant at Fayose market in Ado-Ekiti
Olukere had in a reprisal attacked some youngmen suspected to be thugs who attacked his hotel and destroyed facilities there recently.
Kolade in the reprisal led by Olukere was allegedly stabbed to death at a place in Ado- Ekiti a day after the attack on Obasoyin’s hotel.
Singing hate songs against Olukere and urging the police not to pamper him as allegedly been done earlier, the protesters, comprising aged men and women, palace chiefs and many Ikere people and youths, urged the Inspector General of Police to pay special attention on the trials of Olukere, denoting allegation that the Ekiti State government had hand in his travails.
The protest was a counter action to the pro-Olukere protest on Wednesday which urged the police to release Obasoyin and accused state government of with hunting him politically.
Speaking with newsmen, Chief James Alonge,Secretary of the Ogoga in-Council, who was part of the protest, said: “We have to take to the streets this morning because we heard in the media that the Oba of Ikere is being put in prison for murder. We found that disturbing. I personally received many calls from within and outside the country and I found it very disturbing. This is why we want the world to know that the culprit is not our Oba who is the Ogoga of Ikere. Before you become an Oba, you have to be presented with a staff of office, we are yet to know who gave him a staff of office, so what he is doing by parading himself as Oba is a crime to us.
While Mrs. Doris Ogunlade, head of the women group who joined the protest, said”: Oba Adejimi Adu Alagbado is our monarch, Ganiu Obasoyin is not our monarch. Obasoyin is only an Abore, a priest. His likes doesn’t go out in the afternoon because in those days they were the unclean dedicated to appease the gods. He is to see the King, Ogoga only once every year.Oba Adejimi is our king, he loves us and cares for us. We leanrt that Obasoyin allegedly killed someone in Ado and we want the authorities to deal with him accordingly.
Also, the head of the youths unions in Ikere,Mr. Ariyo Rufus, said “We are on the streets to give an enlightenment campaign on a man who has been disturbing the peace of our community. He is Ganiu Obasoyin and he is parading himself as a monarch but he is not.
“From the beginning, Ogoga has been the paramount ruler of Ikere. Olukere is just a priest of the Olosunta. There is an intelligent report that authenticates this and we have it.
There are some traditional rites he ought to have performed before becoming a King. He never did that. So, how does he now become an Oba?,”he said.
