Hoodlums set Ogun monarch’s palace ablaze again

For the second time in eight months, suspected arsonists have set the palace of the Olofin of Ado Odo, Oba Lateef Adeniran, ablaze in Ado Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State.
A section of the palace located in Isale Ado area of the town was razed in April.
The perpetrators of Wednesday’s arson were said to have gained entry into the palace through the ceiling of its upper floor.
Suspected hoodlums, who stormed the town in April had set the ground floor of the palace on fire. They also allegedly stripped naked and injured Adeniran and his wife, Fausat.
The town had been embroiled in crisis since the Supreme Court ruled that Adeniran, who was enthroned on May 2, 2009, was the rightful occupant of the throne.
Our correspondent gathered that Wednesday’s incident was allegedly perpetrated by some people, who were opposed to Adeniran’s return to the town. The embattled monarch had been living in exile in Abeokuta.
A resident of the town, who pleaded anonymity, said, “Kabiyesi was preparing to return to the palace, but some people are doing everything humanly possible to thwart his efforts.”
The resident said  people were shocked when they woke up on Wednesday and discovered that the first floor of the storey building, where the personal effects belonging to Adeniran were kept, had been burnt.
Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, said the source of the fire at the monarch’s palace could not be “immediately established.”
Adejobi, a deputy superintendent of police, said the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ikemefuna Okoye, had ordered the State Criminal Investigations Department to take over the matter.
The police spokesman appealed to the residents and people of the town to remain peaceful as the state police would not tolerate any violence.