By Eben Enasco
The Benin Traditional Council (BTC) has has accused the suspended Enigie (Dukes) in Igbanke, a part of Benin Kingdom of masterminding the recent rebellion in the community.
In a statement issued and signed by Seven high ranking Benin Chiefs and made available to newsmen on Wednesday, the BTC alleged that the suspended Enigie’s actions have contributed to the unrest.
The clarifications contained in the statement were endorsed by Chief Stanley Osamwonyi, the Esere of Benin, Edionwe Oliha, the Oliha of Benin, Osaro Idah, Obazelu of Benin, George Ogie Ekhator-Obasogie, the Obasogie of Benin and others.
According to the statement, the action was in response to the false claims published the penultimate week by some individuals claiming to be indigenes of Igbanke.
The council is claiming that the suspended Enigie played a key role in inciting unrest and rebellion among the people of Igbanke.
Their actions are seen as undermining the authority of the age long Benin Kingdom’s traditional institutions.
Part of the statement reads, “The Benin Traditional Council has watched with utter consternation the attempt by some self- style individuals parading themselves as Igbanke elements to turn history on its head with respect to the place of the Igbanke people in Benin history.
“The Igbanke people migrated from Benin City in history to settle in their present location in Benin Kingdom and present Edo State. Records have explicitly shown this for a long time and in the Benin Traditional Council.
“The Enigie that have lived in Igbanke have all been loyal and played their traditional Chieftaincy roles in loyalty in history to the Oba of Benin as other Enigie in other parts of the Benin Kingdom.
“The recent acts of rebellion in which they sought to undermine the long-standing tradition of the Benin Kingdom by the act of sacrilege were actively carried out by the suspended Enigie, including those of Igbanke”, which has an ancestral link with Benin”, the statement said.
Subsequently, the Benin Traditional Council, BTC, is dismissing claims by some proponents of the Igbanke dissident group, stating that the narrative of their traditional heads migrating from Benin and being identified as Obis and Ezes is false.
According to the BTC, such titles do not exist in Edo land, whose history predates the defunct Midwest region and Bendel State.
The statement emphasizes the importance of historical accuracy and respect for traditional institutions.
The council described the claims by the Igbanke dissident group as strange and without basis, stating that no such titles existed in Edo land or Igbanke before or during the Midwest and Bendel State periods.
The BTC’s statement reinforces the authority of the Oba of Benin, Omo N’ Oba N’ Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II, CFR, and underscores the importance of respecting traditional institutions.
It would be recalled that the Benin Palace suspended some Enigie (Dukes) over alleged collusion with the immediate past Administration of the state to balkanize the Kingdom, making the Dukes independent of the Oba, something the Palace, the Benins saw as a mutiny, an affront and an abomination to the Monarchy.
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