The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has denied visiting imprisoned former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele in Kuje.
On Wednesday, December 6, the monarch’s spokesperson, Moses Olafare, responded to the rumour by stating that Oba Ogunwusi was at the penitentiary institution at the request of a Non-Governmental Organisation owned by one of his wives, Queen Temitope, which is advocating for the correctional facility.
The ceremony, which was arranged in collaboration with the Kuje correctional authority, was based on bringing hope to inmates on their reintegration into society after completing their terms, and the Ooni was a part of it in recognition of his eighth anniversary.
The statement read; “The intent of those spreading the news was to blackmail the monarch; there is nothing hidden about the event. In any case, the king never met Emefiale because it was an official event organised by the NGO in conjunction with the Kuje Correction Centre.
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“The programme centres around giving hope to the inmate that, after serving out their terms, they still have hope to reintegrate back into the society. The Arole Ooni was invited to chair the p in commemoration of his eighth anniversary on the throne.
“What is exclusive about a public programme where different public figures spoke and representatives of the inmate also spoke? How then did the Ooni manage to meet Emefiele?
“We must be careful with how people spread falsehoods about people. The video of the event is available to the public. I am not even sure Emefiele attended the programme because he is only in detention and not an inmate yet, so why link the programme to Emefiele? It is simply to achieve blackmail.”
