Benin traditional council suspends 5 chiefs who linked Benin origin to Ife

The Benin Traditional Council (BTC) has suspended five of its functionaries from their roles for engaging in sacrilegious conduct against the Benin custom.

The suspension was announced in a statement signed by the Iyase of Benin, Chief Sam Igbe, on Saturday, April 27, 2024.

This comes following a recent claim by the suspended chiefs that Ile-Ife, a town in Osun State, South-West Nigeria, is the ancestral home of the Benin people of Edo State.

Presenting themselves as emissaries of the Benin Kingdom during a courtesy visit to the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja II, the Chiefs were captured in a now-viral video making the assertion.

“We have always been told that Ife is our home.

“I don’t care about the propaganda on the internet or whatever anybody is saying.

“We know our history and as far as we are concerned, when I was coming here, I knew I was coming to meet my father so I was very comfortable,” one of the emissaries said.

Benin Traditional Council reacts

However, the BTC has said the chiefs falsely represented themselves to the Ooni as emissaries of the Oba of Benin and rendered an inaccurate and disjointed account of the connection between the Benin Royal Dynasty and the Ooni-ship of Ife.

“The attention of the Benin Traditional Council has been drawn to video clips circulating on social media in which a group of self-serving traditional functionaries from Benin engaged themselves in a sacrilegious show of shame and falsehood against the Benin Custom.

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Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II [Instagram:@ooniadimulaife] Pulse Nigeria

“In the said clip, the individuals who have been identified as Johnbull Igbinosun, Iduhonre (Ihogbe), S.E. Aigbiremwen, Efesieoghoba (Ogbelaka) and two other Ogbelaka functionaries identified as Ogbeide Osagie and Osamudiame Edo were in the presence of the Ooni of Ife, falsely claiming to be emissaries of the Omo N’ObaN’ Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, His Royal Majesty Oba Ewuare Il, Oba of Benin.

“These individuals not only declared themselves subjects of the Ooni but also rendered inaccurate and disjointed accounts of the connection between the Benin Royal Dynasty and the Ooni-ship of Ife.

“While the BTC does not wish to be drawn to restating the well-known connection between the two thrones of the Oba of Benin and the Ooni of Ife, the general public is urged to disregard the inaccurate accounts rendered by the ill-bred individuals named above,” the statement read.

The council stressed that the conduct of these functionaries is “inappropriate, sacrilegious, and calculated to ridicule traditional history and to bring disrepute to Benin custom.”

“Consequently, on the authority of the Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, His Royal Majesty Oba Ewuare Il, Oba of Benin the Prescribed Authority over Benin Custom, the BTC hereby announces the suspension of the individuals mentioned above from their role as Benin traditional functionaries.

“The general public is advised to refrain from having anything to do with them as traditional functionaries in Benin kingdom throughout their suspension,” it added.