Tension As Onojie (King) Of Egoro Kingdom Abandons His Throne For Fears Of Police Arrest, On The Malicious Damage And Threat To Life Charges.
THE elders and indigenes of Egoro Amede and neighbouring communities, in Esan West Local Government Area (LGA) of Edo State, are thrown into palpable confusion and tension as the Onojie (king) of Egoro Kingdom, His Royal Highness (HRH), Theophilus Osobase II, has abandoned his throne, ostensibly to avoid an arrest by men of the Nigerian Police Force, from the State Police Command, Benin City, on the accusation of malicious damage of properties belonging to Members of the Egoro Amede Community, some of who are over 85 years and said to be the benefactors of the king, who, against some odds, had assisted him (the Onojie), as a mere teenager, to ascend his late father’s throne, some years ago. The said victims of the alleged monarch’s onslaught worked tirelessly with the kingmakers of the kingdom to install him.
Furthermore, the Onojie allegedly collaborating instruct a land grabbing syndicate, to seize lands belonging to the community and destroy their crops.
In a petition to the Edo State Commissioner of Police, dated 22nd December, 2024, by A.O.O. Ekpu, attorney to the Complainants, HRH Osobase, with eleven others from Emaudo community and the agrarian community of Egoro Amede; including, Sunny Omonkhua, Bamidele Taiwo, Samson Omolemen, Chief Sam Oboh and Daniel Irabor, Wesley Olumese, and Barnabas Ifidon were accused of conniving and carrying out of massive bulldozing of oil palm trees and other crops in the plantations belonging to members of Egoro Amede community, on the alleged instruction of the monarch.
Others alleged to be perpetrators of the crime, include Nicholas Alabi Okedi, Aigbiremolen Ikhine, Kelvin Alabi Okedi, Abu Bello and Wesley Olumese. who aforementioned names allegedly brandished guns and other dangerous weapons, had dared members of the community to stop them from bulldozing the said cash crops,
But, anonymous sources in the Edo Police Command had it that when telephone calls were put through to the Onojie, he asserted that he was far away from his community, prodding the police officers to leave a written invitation (dated 5th January, 2024) to a receiver in his deserted palace, for onward transmission to the king, thus demanding that he reports with others on the run to the State Command on 9th Tuesday, 2024.
The same sources within the state’s Police Command, who also preferred anonymity, stated that the king could be declared wanted if he failed to honour the invitation on the said date.
In another dimension that is said to have increased the worries of the embattled Onojie, legal sources had claimed that his actions of going to bulldoze crops belonging to elders of the community, is with the intent to grab them, whereas a case of land grabbing had earlier been filed at the High Court at Ekpoma and duly served on the HRH Osobase II, who disregarded it bullfozed the crops, a clear act of contempt of the Court.
Born in 1992 about four months after the death of his father, HRH Osobase II, was said to have received many obstacles to his father’s throne, following the installation of a regent, who held the forte before he grew up to a teenager before his enthronement. .
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