Youths chase Ondo monarch out of palace

Oba Akinfesola Adewola of Igburowo community, Odigbo Local Government, Ondo State, was on Sunday chased out of his palace by youths.
Our correspondent learnt that the group of youths, who marched to the palace early in the morning and barricaded roads leading to the community, made the monarch to trek several kilometres to a village on the Ondo-Ore highway where they left him.
The protesters carried placards that read ‘Enough is Enough, 16 years of No Development,’ ‘No to backwardness, Igburowo says no to Akinfesola’ ‘Go, Akinfesola, Go,’ ‘Igburowo community rejects you Pius Adewola’ and ‘Adewola is a wife snatcher, Igburowo, rejects you’.
Youth Leader of the community, Mr. Samuel Adeyemi, said the protest had no political undertone but was carried out to show their dissatisfaction with the leadership style of the monarch.
Adeyemi alleged that Adewola was accused of engaging in fraud, forcible acquisition of land belonging to his subjects, frivolous litigation over subject’s property, non-performance of traditional rites and assaulting his chiefs and subjects.
But the traditional ruler denied the allegation, saying they were unfounded and meant to damage his reputation.
Adewola told our correspondent on the telephone, “I don’t know what to say now because I have not done anything to warrant the treatment being meted out to me.”
The second-in-command to the monarch, Chief Festus Ogunsesin, described the incident as “highly unfortunate and embarrassing”.
A senior police officer at the Ore Divisional Police Station, Mr. Adeleye Abayomi, who led some policemen to the area, pleaded with the protesters and monarch to go with him for a meeting with the DPO of the station, Mr. Adekimi Ojo, over the matter.