No end in sight to Olu of Warri crisis as Emami set to go to court

The royal rumble over the Olu of Warri throne appears not to be ending soon as Iya Stock, among Ologbotsere descendants, have thrown their weight behind the Ologbotsere of Warri, Chief Ayirimi Emami, urging him to go to court to seek the disqualification of Prince Tsola Emiko as OMOBA.

Pressure is being mounted by Ologhotsere descendants for Emami to approach the court with a single application or join already filed suit challenging the enstoolment of Prince Tsola Emiko.

It was gathered that the Otiri, Abotor and Awani families of Iya Stock, among Ologbotsere descendants, have charged the Ologbotsere of Warri, Emami to go to court, to prove that the reported disqualification of Prince Tsola Emiko as OMOBA by Ojoye-Isan (The Olu Advisory Council) led by the Ologbotsere, on Monday, March 29, 2021, was in line with the law and custom of Itsekiri Nation, as stipulated in the 1979 Edict.

A prominent member of the Otiri, Abotor and Awani families of Warri Kingdom, Mr. Philip Omagbemi Awani, handed down the charge in a syndicated press statement released on Thursday, on behalf of the families. He emphasised that the demand for Chief Ayirimi Emami to seek redress in court, became necessary following, “misconceptions and speculations that Ologbotsere Emami is being asked to apologize to Itsekiri Nation, instead of some group of persons, who illegally announced the now-laughable suspension of Ologbotsere Emami to apologize to him”.

While declaring that they would do everything to persuade Emami to follow the legal route “in setting the record straight”, Awani, stated: “The disqualification of Prince Tsola Emiko as OMOBA, was first done in 2015, over perceived failure to meet the criteria to succeed (his transited father) the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse II, leading to the emergence of Ogiame Ikenwoli as the Warri Monarch.

“Barr. Toju Emiko, who read the statement purportedly suspending Chief Ayirimi Emami, wrote and published a book on the processes leading to the disqualification of Tsola Emiko in 2015 and the emergence of Ogiame Ikenwoli as the Olu of Warri.

“Section 2 of the 1979 Edict, stipulates order of sequence in terms of who succeeds the king in the event of transition, It is from father to son, but if not suitable, the kingship goes to brother, uncle or grandson and if there is no grandson, it goes to other relations, that is where Tsola Emiko belongs in this instance.

“Section 4 of the Edict, stipulates that for someone to qualify as potential successor to the revered throne of the Olu of Warri, when vacant, the person’s father must be an Itsekiri by birth, while his mother should also be either Itsekiri or Edo by birth. ‘IFE’ is the last process of getting successor to the throne, after scaling the process of Ojoye-Isan led by the Ologbotsere.”

“Only a slave Itsekiri, would ask the Ologbotsere to apologise to Itsekiri Nation,” Awani added in the statement.