Olu of Warri Stool: Itsekiri close to retrieving missing crown, others

The entire Itsekiri Kingdom, home and in the Diaspora, may have cause to rejoice soon as the Police in AIG, Zone 5, Benin City, have succeeded in retrieving the keys to the room where the missing 400-year old Itshekiri crown and other symbols of the Kingdom’s authority, are kept by those who moved them from the palace.

Tribune Online gathered that the police achieved the major breakthrough in Benin on Friday during the peace parley between the Iyatsere of the Warri Kingdom, Chief Johnson Atserunleghe, and the suspended Ologbotsere of Warri, Chief Ayiri Emami, who were both accompanied to the meeting by some top chiefs loyal to the two factions in the succession crisis that hit the Kingdom after the transition of the immediate past Olu of Warri, Ogiame Ikenwoli, in December 2020.

The AIG office, it would be recalled, had grilled the embattled Ologbosere for hours on April 24, following a petition by the Itshekiri Palace, accusing Emami of being the mastermind of the breaking into the palace and the disappearance of the traditional insignias, an allegation that the suspended Ologbosere refuted.

Following his denial, the police equally invited the duo to another round of meetings last Wednesday, where both parties pledged their commitment to the overall peace of the Kingdom. The Friday meeting was a follow-up and aimed at deciding the matter once and for all.

A palace source who was at the Friday follow up meeting called by the AIG to find a lasting solution to the crisis said that one of the top chiefs admitted having the keys to the room where the crown and other items were kept.

The source, who pleaded anonymity, added that during the meeting which had in attendance, the Officer in Charge of Anti-Vice in the AIG Command, David Okoro, a Superintendent of Police, the chief, whose name he did not volunteer, told the police authority that he was in possession of the keys, which the police immediately retrieved from him.

“Last Friday we were at AIG and we met the Officer in Charge of Anti-Vice, David Okoro, and during the investigation, we were made to understand that the keys leading to the room where the crown and other royal monuments were kept were with one of the chiefs,” the source volunteered.

According to him, “the embattled prominent chief admitted that the keys were with him. I told the police that when our king passed on, the keys were with the Uwangue of Warri Kingdom, the No 3 Chief who is Gabriel Awala. By his title, he is in charge of the king’s wardrobe. Ordinarily, Awala should be with the keys.”

“The chief who had the keys was not around when Baba passed on. After three days, when he returned he took the keys from Awala without the consent of the kingmakers. He had been with the keys until it was recovered last Friday. He told the police that he didn’t give the keys to anybody and the doors leading to the rooms were not broken and after collecting what they wanted, he made small damage to the door to pervert Justice,” the source explained.

The Palace source disclosed that the chief, after admitting that he had the keys “was asked to make an additional statement, the police told him he is the prime suspect and they asked him to make sure that all the items that were removed be returned.”

He enthused that with the latest development, the coronation of the Olu of Warri designates (Omoba), Tsola Emiko, could begin in earnest while the Itshekiri Traditional Council would determine the fates of those involved in moving the items from their traditional abode.

When contacted, the AIG Zone 5 Police Public Relations Officer, Tijani Momoh, said he was not part of the team that investigated the matter and as such, was not in any position to confirm or deny if the keys had been retrieved.

“I was not part of the investigative team and cannot confirm if any key was retrieved from one of the chiefs or not,” he said.

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