Five Benin traditional functionaries have been barred from the Oba of Benin’s palace for engaging in sacrilegious conduct against Benin custom.
They were suspended after allegedly pledging loyalty to the Ooni of Ife and providing inaccurate accounts of the Benin Royal dynasty's connection to the Ooni-ship of Ife.
The chiefs had visited the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, claiming to be emissaries of Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II. Following this incident, they were suspended by the Benin Traditional Council.
In a statement, the Chief Press Secretary to the Oba of Benin, Osaigbovo Iguobaro, announced that the functionaries had been stripped of their beads and barred from the palace.
The Uwangue of Benin, Chief Ekhoerovbiye Oviasogie, headed the committee that oversaw their disciplinary actions.
The suspended functionaries were also stripped of their traditional titles and barred from participating in any traditional rites in Benin.
Their actions were described as a deliberate attempt to undermine the Benin kingdom, leading to their suspension and removal from palace functions.
They were escorted out of the Palace by chiefs, including Ewaise (traditional seers) who invoked ancestral spirits to bear witness to their punishment.
