The Punch
Saturday, June 21, 2008

N10.5m governorship ritual scandal rocks Ekiti

By Olamilekan Lartey, Ado Ekiti

The Ekiti State Government is currently embroiled in a scandal that is centred on an alleged sum of N10.5 million that was used to make a fetish to ensure the election of Governor Segun Oni in the April 14, 2007 poll. But the state government said it was not aware of the incident, adding that it could be the handiwork of some rogue elements within the administration.




But some peasant farmers in Odo Osi Local Government Area of the state, who alleged that they were being victimised for their roles in the ritual, insisted that the ritual took place. One of the farmers, Chief Jacob Afelebe, 72, told Saturday Punch’s that agents of the state government had seized all his property and were threatening his life.

Investigations conducted by Saturday Punch revealed that the scandal erupted after a row over how the ritual money was disbursed.

However, a letter of invitation from the police’s anti-fraud unit at the Federal Criminal Investigation Department, Alagbon, Lagos with reference No 3000/X/STO, stated that Afelebe was being investigated for ‘fraud and threat to life’.

The letter, dated March 13, 2008, directed Afelebe to report to Alagbon to see one Supol Michael James. Afelebe told Saturday Punch that The traditional ruler of Afelebe’s village delivered the letter to him after he was released from a police cell in Igede, Ekiti State. Afelebe said he was, however, shocked when he got to Alagbon and was told he had no case to answer.

The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Segun Oni on Public Communication, Mr. Moses Jolayemi, told our correspondent on Friday that his boss would neither take part in such an outrageous and fetish activity nor harass a peasant farmer. He accused a rival political party of orchestrating the story to embarrass the state government.

But a tearful Afelebe told our correspondent that the farmers actually conducted the sacrifice in aid of Oni’s ambition, after a local government chairman had constituted a committee for the project.

He said while the five-man committee presented a proposal of N300,000 for the project, only N20,000 was approved through a chief in Usi Ekiti. The elderly man said the plan was for the committee to travel to Ile-Ife, Osun State for the sacrifice but that he decided to take the team to a popular female herbalist in Irun, Ondo State.

According to Afelebe, when the team got to Irun, the Ifa oracle said only someone close to the governor could speak on his behalf. As such, a chief from Ifaki-Ekiti, the governor’s hometown, was chosen, but the oracle rejected him because he was not close enough.

He stated that one of Oni’s relations, who was allegedly chosen to carry the sacrifice to a designated spot, instead paid the female herbalist’s son to do it.

He said, “I was arrested on March 5, 2008 for allegedly receiving N1.7 million from the N10.5 million paid to the woman. But before God and man, we did not collect any money from the man (governor’s relation). Even the local government chairman called a meeting to find out why we collected such a huge amount.”

He added that four men accompanied by three policemen, all claiming to have been sent by the governor, came to him in Aiyetoro, stripped him and handcuffed him. He was also allegedly paraded on the streets of Ifaki-Ekiti as fraudster.

He said, “On March 6, 2008, they took me to my bank where they withdrew the N950,000 in my fixed deposit account. They also impounded my car with all my yam seedlings. On the third day, they took me back again to collect the remaining N20,000 in my account.” Afelebe said when the trauma became unbearable, his family engaged a lawyer to rescue him from the agents of the state government.

Documents in the possession of our correspondent showed the numerous communications between the lawyer, the state government and the police on the matter.

Throughout last week, neither the governor’s relation nor the female herbalist could be located, but Jolayemi told our correspondent an investigation would be carried out to ascertain the truth.

http://odili.net/news/source/2008/jun/21/411.html

Even babalawos are getting large chunks of the national pie. When did their services become so expensive?

ROFLMAO!!! Na wa ooo!!

I guess becoming a babalawo is now a lucrative profession in Ekiti.

LOOOOL. Abeg it is enough, Nigeria you will not kill me with laughter today , just imagine if the motion went through the state house and they now had to select the different "services" etc as if they were choosing from catalogue "hmm this babalawo uses 50% extra goat head i think we should hire this one, does he have any references?" LOL

IT IS IN SPIRIT OF DO OR DIE POLITICS AS PROPAGATED BY OBJ, BABALAWO IS ALSO A NIGERIAN THEY NEED TO EAT TOO, EWE A SUN KO LOJO KAN

really
too bad if Its really true some dailies cant be trusted.

IT IS IN SPIRIT OF DO OR DIE POLITICS AS PROPAGATED BY OBJ, BABALAWO IS ALSO A NIGERIAN THEY NEED TO EAT TOO, EWE A SUN KO LOJO KAN

Are you sure it was OBJ that propagated the do or die politics? I don't think so.

Do you know how many Babalowao's benefitted from Adedibu when he was alive?

Do you know how many Babalowao's benefitted from Adedibu when he was alive?

Another proof that babalawo is now very lucrative in Nigeria. I may consider starting a babalawo training seminary at Ilesha very soon.