The Ekiti State government has intervened in the crisis rocking Odo Ora in Ido/Osi Local Government Area where indigenes locked their monarch out of his palace.
The Deputy Governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, during a peace meeting held in his office on Wednesday, condemned the violence that recently rocked the community.
According to statement by his Special Assistant (Media) to the Deputy Governor, Odunayo Ogunmola, Egbeyemi warned that the full weight of the law would be visited on individuals fomenting trouble in Odo Ora.
The Obalemo of Odo Ora, Oba Samuel Akinola Adeyemo, told the deputy governor that he had been locked out of the palace by suspected hoodlums allegedly mobilized by some interest groups in the community.
The monarch, who forwarded a Save My Soul petition to the state government on the crisis, also revealed that palm fronds were tied at the gate of the palace to prevent him from occupying the building.
The kingmakers and other community leaders alleged that the procedure that produced the monarch was faulty and that he was not formally installed.
Egbeyemi said that government had to summon the peace meeting following intelligence report from security agencies of possible outbreak of violence over the kingship crisis.
The deputy governor warned stakeholders in Odo Ora to maintain peace, stressing that government won’t depose any monarch in the state.
He advised Odo Ora indigenes, who are aggrieved with the emergence of Oba Adeyemo as the Obalemo, to seek redress in the court of law.
Egbeyemi said: “Security report revealed that there is likely to be outbreak of violence in Odo Ora. I don’t want anybody to disturb or attack Kabiyesi.
“If there is outbreak of violence, all culprits will be arrested and prosecuted. Let there be peace in your community.”
One of the community leaders, Prof. Olawumi Ajaja, said Odo Ora indigenes had nothing against the person of the embattled monarch but against the process that produced him.
Ajaja, former Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, said the locals still see the monarch as an Oba-elect, alleging that traditional rites were yet to be performed.
The deputy governor urged parties in the crisis to report back to his office on February 21 for a follow-up peace parley in a bid to resolve the impasse.
