Youths attack born-again monarch for refusing rituals to stop deaths

Some youths in Ikun Akoko, in the Akoko South-West Local Government Area of Ondo State, took to the streets on Thursday to protest against some tragedies that befell the community.

The protesters were said to be angry with the traditional ruler over his alleged attitude towards finding a solution to the premature deaths of promising sons and daughters of the community.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the group carried palm fronds and sang solidarity songs to express their displeasure over the tragedies that had caused unrest and panic.

A source on Thursday said the protesters alleged that the monarch, Oba Olokunbola Adedoyin, who claimed to be a ‘born again’ Christian, to do rituals that could ward off the calamities in the town.

He said, “They stormed the palace and threw palm leaves at the palace. After that, they moved to the only petrol station in the town, owned by the Oba, and torched a part of it during the protest.”

The traditional ruler, however, said he had been trying his best to attract development to the town since he became the Onikun of Ikun.

Adedoyin, who has spent 19 years on the throne, said the youth threatened to kill him and his son before they attacked his petrol station, where an attendant was hacked and three generators valued at N1.5m were vandalised.

He described himself as a prayer warrior with others who had been praying for the community.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs Funmilayo Odunlami, confirmed the incident, adding that normalcy had been restored.