Posted by The PM News on
Three unidentified gunmen, who sneaked into the palace of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse II, have been arrested by operatives of the State Security Service.
Three unidentified gunmen, who sneaked into the palace of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse II, have been arrested by operatives of the State Security Service.
P.M.News gathered that the incident happened at about 8 p.m., on Saturday, when Yeye, Ooni's first wife, was returning from a function.
Sources told P.M.News that the gunmen, who drove in a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), joined the entourage of the Oba's wife, who were in two cars.
On getting to the entrance of the palace, the two cars and the third vehicle driven by the gunmen, were allowed in by the policemen manning the main gate. The cops thought that the third car trailing Yeye's cars was part of the entourage.
They were also allowed to drive through the second gate within the palace by the policemen at the gate. However, on getting to the third gate, the SSS operatives allowed Yeye's two cars, but stopped the gunmen's SUV and asked the occupants of the vehicle to identify themselves.
According to our palace source, the three men shouted 'esprit de corps', signifying that they were security men like the SSS operatives and should be allowed free passage. But the SSS operatives insisted that they must produce their I.D. cards before they could be allowed to go farther.
When they could not present any, the SSS men searched them and discovered guns and police uniforms in the vehicle. They were arrested and taken to the police headquarters in the town. The police are yet to reveal the identities of the gunmen.
When P.M.News called the Osun State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Mr. Joshua Olayemi, this morning, he said he was not aware of the incident, but promised to cross-check the information and get back to us. However, the Ooni's aide, Funmilola Olorunnisola, confirmed the incident this morning, but said the gunmen's intentions and who they are, could not be ascertained. He said when they were arrested and questioned, they said they did not know anybody in the palace.