Irate youth raze king’s palace, commissioner’s home over burial rites
The palace of Oba D. S. Lawani, the traditional ruler of Ojah, a community in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area, and the residence of Mrs Christabel Eremah Ekwu, the Edo State Commissioner for Social Development and Gender, were reportedly razed down by angry youths over an alleged disagreement on the mode of burial rite in the community.
Salient Times reports that an SUV vehicle belonging to the traditional ruler, parked in his compound, was also completely burnt.
It was gathered that the irate youths also clashed with security agents by attacking them with stones and other objects.
Salient Times learnt that the crisis was triggered by a disagreement among the youth, traditional ruler, and commissioner over the mode of burial rite for a woman allegedly killed by the community’s shrine.
The community reportedly has an age-long customary burial rite prescribed for persons allegedly killed by the shrine.
Salient Times recalls that the Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, had during a meeting with security chiefs in the state condemned the attack on security personnel at a burial ceremony in the state.
According to a source, trouble started on Monday when a woman died.
“After some findings, it was said that the woman was killed by the shrine in Ojah. So the community wanted to give the woman’s body a “sky burial,” that is, throwing the dead bodies in the shrine on the hills.
“The traditional ruler and the commissioner had advocated a stoppage to this kind of burial, and the youth suspected that the duo had invited security agencies to stop the process.
“In the process, youths clashed with the security agencies and attacked them with stones. They drove them away and, in their anger, attacked the palace of the traditional ruler, vandalised it and completely burnt his SUV parked in the compound while the residence of the commissioner was completely razed down,” the source said.
Meanwhile, the Okpameri Traditional Rulers Association, OKPATRA, has condemned the destruction of the buildings and called for peace, noting that the disagreement was such that it could have been easily resolved.
The association craved the indulgence and understanding of all the critical stakeholders in the Ojah community to continue to maintain peace and harmony.
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the Edo State Police Command, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, said the command was waiting for reports from the Divisional Police Officer in the area
