The Ogun State chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on Monday called on the police to arrest and prosecute one of the traditional rulers in the state, the Oloorile of Orile Ifo in Ifo Local Government Area Oba Semiu Olawale Ogunjobi, for supervising the physical assault carried out on a 70 years old man by his palace aides.
The students specifically called on the Egba Traditional Council, under the leadership of Alake and Paramount Rule of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, to “act decisively” by stripping Oba Ogunjobi of his status as a traditional ruler for desecrating his stool when he subjected the septuagenarian Chief Arinola Abraham Love to inhumane treatment even on the public road.
NANS chairman in Ogun, Comrade Abiola Francis, spoke with newsmen yesterday in Abeokuta, the state capital. He said the monarch’s “public show of shame” portrayed him as unfit for the exalted position of traditional ruler he’s currently occupying.
Oba Ogunjobi had, in a video he supervised, forced a sick and frail-looking Chief Arinola to kneel on a highway, where he verbally assaulted, physically attacked and rained curses on him over an unclarified offence against his stool.
However, reacting to the video, which has gone viral, NANS Chairman in the state Francis demanded justice for the septuagenarian, describing the monarch’s action as a “betrayal of human dignity” and negating the values that Yoruba traditional leadership should represent.
“The provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and criminal laws are explicit on assault, abuse of power and intimidation. Therefore, this case must not be swept under the carpet.
“This action is highly condemnable, abhorrent and runs contrary to the tenets of the Ọmọlúwàbí ethos that distinguishes us as Yoruba people, particularly in the Ẹ̀gbá Kingdom.
“Traditional rulers are meant to be custodians of peace, justice, and moral uprightness, not instruments of oppression and hooliganism. The monarchy should be a refuge for the people, not a force of intimidation and cruelty”.
