The final traditional funeral rites of passage for Ogiame Ikenwoli, the 20th Olu of Warri, continued at Ode-Itsekiri, the ancestral home of the Itsekiri people, in Warri South council area of Delta State, amid heavy security presence.
The ceremony lasted from the dusk of Saturday, till the dawn of yesterday, with guests and indigenes thoroughly frisked before being allowed into the town hall.
It was gathered that this was to forestall any form of unrest, following the tension that has accompanied the succession process for the stool, and more recently the development at a High Court sitting in Warri, where a party is challenging the choice of Prince Tsola Emiko as Olu-designate.
The ceremony presided over by the regent, Prince Emmanuel Okotie-Eboh, began with some rituals performed at the catafalque, a spiritual home that the corpse of the departed monarch lives throughout the 14-day spiritual exercise.
As the rituals are concluded, canons otherwise called ikurusu were fired signalling the commencement of the rich cultural display of the Itsekiri people.
Men and women, young and old, the Ogele Ukpukpe, Ibiogbe and Uku-Umalikun Ola-Aja dancers, clad in native attires took up the centre stage at about 9 pm singing and dancing to drummers’ rhythms bringing nostalgia to spectators.
Members of the Warri Traditional Council of Chiefs, including its chairman, the Iyatsere of Warri Kingdom, Chief Johnson Amatserunleghe, the Olu Advisory Council, princes and members of the Ginuwa l Ruling House and indigenes across Itsekiri communities were seated in the hall.
Some chiefs, including member representing the Warri Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Hon. Thomas Ereyitomi, joined in the dancing.
Many extolled the qualities of Ogiame Ikenwoli, who has often been described as a “peace” crusader.
Ogiame Ikenwoli was crowned on December 12, 2015, and died in December 2020, shortly after his 5th coronation anniversary.
A group, the Movement for the Protection of Iwere Homeland Development and History (MPIHDH), called for the sanctioning of the chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Warri Branch, Chief Emmanuel Uti.
In a petition to the NBA president, Akpata Olumide, the group described a statement by the NBA branch on the High Court invasion in Warri, as “intentionally and wickedly laced with lies, hearsays, unsubstantiated claims, fake news, with a deliberate intent to mislead the general public, security agents, the Delta State government”.
The national president and scribe of the group, Comrade Aderojor Ologhojoba James, Comrade Lucky Ayomike Okonedo, signed the petition.
The NBA Warri Branch had called for a beef-up of security around courts premises to stem court invasions and “desecration of its hallowed chambers” while condemning Thursday’s incident at the Warri High Court.
