Disquiet as Deji of Akure unleashes thugs on Isinkan, Isolo, blackmails soldiers, others on rescue mission

By OUR REPORTERS, Akure

Further checks showed how the Deji has been using unmerited court cases to cause financial drains to traditional rulers of the adjoining communities with intent to use kangaroo judicial arrangements to remove them and have the already crowned Obas demoted as mere chiefs and subjected to his “slavery”.

In a sad development on Tuesday August 27, 2024, thugs confirmed to be on mission by Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, unleashed havoc on two communities of Isolo and Isinkan in Akure South Local Government and Akure West Local Council Development Area, respectively, in attempts to enforce market and shops closure on the two separate autonomous townships ruled by own Obas.

The Deji took the action despite knowing that that it was against extant laws and order of the government that no Oba shall extend his authority to closing markets and shops in towns headed by other Obas, a breach that is punishable by law.

Like the Iralepo of Isinkan, headquarters of Akure West LCDA, Oba (Barr.) Oluwagbemiga Ojo Olofin-Ademimula, the Osolo of Isolo, Akure South Local Government Area, Oba (Dr.) Edward Kolawole Adejoyegbe Adewole, Osalade II, Akesoogun Orisa Oba Oluaye Mosu, upon intelligence report on what the Deji was planning to do, had on Monday August 26 reminded the people of his kingdom of the government’s ban of closure of all markets during any community festival.

In the reminder, the Osolo said the state law says that community festival should be restricted to the Oba’s market of the celebrating community and, in the light of that, called on all residents of Isolo Kingdom to continue with their normal business activities during the Akure Aheregbe festival and congratulated the Deji and his Akure people on their celebration.

Our investigations revealed that the Deji, “who has now turned himself to the untouchable as he uses thugs terrorising the neighbouring towns without fear of state powers”, boasts around of his connection with the high and mighty in the country to give him the kind of steelhead with which he carries out his “unlawful” activities of unleashing thugs.

Further checks showed how the Deji has been using unmerited court cases to cause financial drains to traditional rulers of the adjoining communities with intent to use kangaroo judicial arrangements to remove them and have the already crowned Obas demoted as mere chiefs and subjected to his “slavery”.

“By this, his Chief Press Secretary, Michael Adeyeye, goes about on his verified social platforms to boast of his principal, the Deji’s having been favoured by judgments in cases that are even yet to be opened in court. Asides that this is insult to the Nigerian judiciary, we seriously sympathise with judges handling those cases brought before them by the Deji because, by the way he preempts and pronounces judgments in yet to be opened cases, he is blackmailing them,” an apparently angry respondent in the Deji-led Akure told our reporters on Tuesday.

He spoke just as an Isinkan resident, interviewed, gave detailed account of how Deji’s thugs led by one Kola Asoga, stormed the neighbouring town in an early morning invasion of Isinkan Oba’s Market around 6:30am on Tuesday.

He said, “This morning around 6:30am, armed thugs led by Kola Asoga, came to attack women who had open their shops and were getting set for early morning customers. These things threw away all the market wares in sight and destroyed them boasting that not even Governor Aiyedatowa can do anything to us. They must have somebody bigger than the entire Ondo State behind them and the Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, is that person

“But it is not true. The Deji simply capilased on the fact that currently, no political actor wants to be active in enforcing the law in a state where the political class, the ruling class particular the governor is the Chief Security Officer. Deji capiltalises on the fact that those, who swore to the Constitution to check excesses of non-state actors threatening the peace and security of the state, are looking the otherwise because of votes they want to get from all the communities.

“To the extent that Kola Asoga, himself, supervised the very saddening destruction of an eggs shop at Isinkan Oba’s Market during his invasion. Now, in this hard time in Nigeria, the Deji put helpless citizens out of means of fending for themselves. Who now compensates them for economic damages?” The respondent said with strict demand for anonymity for his personal security.

Another gang of thugs, led by a Deji’s chief who our reporters were able to identify as Chief Sele Raphael Taiwo Adegbite, stormed Isolo, which ancestrally is his home town but allowed himself to be used and instigated by the Deji to turn against his own Isolo people.

The Sele-led thugs were unlucky as they were repelled by the Isolo township youth.

The situation of disturbance caused by the Deji of Akure in neighbouring Isolo and Isinkan today, at a time he should be celebrating his traditional festival in peace within and with his own Akure people, became so tense that the two communities made S.O.S. calls to security agencies to come to their rescue and Civil Defence and solders were kindly deployed, who’s presence eventually made it difficult for the Deji’s thugs to continue with their evils.

Tension again rose as the soldiers were withdrawn. It was later revealed that the withdrawal was based on misinformation the Deji sent to the Army barracks saying “your boys are outside in town constituting nuisance and attacking innocent people”.

According to our source, by this singular action of trying to blackmail security forces that came to the rescue of these two townships under attacks by Deji’s paid thugs, a charge should be pressed against the Akure king by the state, he said.

“To our surprise, the Deji, who no longer hides his self-ego of using influence sinfully, called the Brigade Command and lied to them that his boys (soldiers) were causing nuisance in town attacking peaceful people.

“The Command recalled the soldiers but when told that Deji only attempted to blackmail the soldiers so that Isinkan and Isolo would not be protected against his thugs evils, the Command redeployed the soldiers to the towns as, in such situation, it was not wrong for solders so long their major purpose was to ensure no Nigerian resident in the communities was under threats of attack,” he said.

Effort to approach the Deji’s palace by Our Reporters was hampered as they feared for their lives because the situation as at the time of visit did not provide the confidence that their personal security and protection were guaranteed.

At the Isolo junction near Akure Central Mosque, a respondent, who sounded to be committed to the Deji and Akure told our reporters, simply appealed that, “All Akure speaking townships from Iju, Itaogbolu up to Igbara Oke should not fight one another.”

At the Osolo Palace, High Chief Ibukun Adetoyinbo, the Elemo of Isolo Kingdom, Akure South, said, “It should be made clear to anybody that cares to listen that Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, has no right the powers he is fighting to wield. One, this is Isolo, like Isinkan, we are not Akure but a kingdom community of our own. We have our traditional ruler, who is currently is Kabiyesi Oba Edward Kolawole Adejoyegbe Adewole, Osalade II, we, his chiefs, constitute his Osolo-in-Council. So where is the Deji in this?

“Two, Aheregbe festival is not even Deji’s Akure festival but festival of the Oba-Ile people. As he and Akure people have now taken that festival upon themselves, we are not concerned. All that I have to say is that Isolo has no connection with Aheregbe. Why is he forcing himself on us? We are not interested and so he cannot encroach on our territory to say markets and shops of Isolo should be shut down over what? Well, we have a government in Ondo State, which has the wherewithal to handle the kind of disrespect for the law and state authorities like this. Thank you,” the Elemo of Isolo said.

Another Isolo person said, “Deji does not have the monopoly of violence or thugs use. But we in Isolo will never follow his footpath of using thugs to disturb peace of any land.

“Come to talk of it, imagine that has they came and, of course the Osolo has the full rights to control his township youth, he now scream to them that these people want to destroy our palace and communal fighting ensue, is that not a crisis situation, will authorities not ask what did Deji come to do here today when he should be celebrating his festival in his own town of Akure?”

In the meantime, takeaways from both Isolo and Isinkan today were that the markets’ men and women were still able to continue their trading activities with residents, who could have been deprived of accessing market, coming to patronise.

Part of the takeaways was that Deji used different deceptive tactics in both towns to convince the people to close markets.

In Isinkan, his emissaries in Isinkan market addressed the traders saying, “Kabiye and Iralepo met with the government and they all agreed to close markets. So, close and let us celebrate.” They were, however, disappointed when the women told them, “Deji is not our kind. If he and our Oba have reached any agreement,  it is not from him but from our own Oba, Iralepo, we will hear.”

The emissaries sent to Isolo market got the same disappointment. “The Deji sent three persons to this market and they said: ‘Deji said, Akure youths are dying and that when he consulted Ifa priest oracle, he said all of us should celebrate the Aheregbe well this year by closing the markets’. But we told them to go back to their Deji and tell him that we have our Oba, who owns this market and who is the Osolo of Isolo. Go back and tell him that only the Osolo of Isolo, Oba Edward Adewole, can ask us to close markets before we can do that,” said one of the market traders that talked to our reporters.