Edo monarch arrested for human trafficking

An Edo monarch, Chief Dogwo Ebiredelu, and the Nigeria Immigration Service, Lagos State Command, are bickering over an alleged attempt by the monarch to traffic two ladies to Turkey.

Ebiredelu was intercepted at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, on Friday with two ladies, Mrs. Queen Ebiredelu and Miss Egharevba Omozuwa, both 22 year-old, whom he claimed were his wife and maid respectively.

On one hand, the monarch, who is the Ebiredelu of Emuhi in Esan West Local Government, Edo State, said his wife and maid needed to travel with him so as to attend to his need in Turkey..

"They said they will deal with me because I refused to settle them. As a traditional ruler, I travel with my wife and maid to take care of my needs," he said.

But on the other hand, the NIS said the monarch gave a similar reason when he was intercepted on a similar journey with two ladies on their way to Switzerland in January 2009.

Ebiredelu carried a genuine diplomatic and a valid Turkish visa, while the ladies had their visas on Nigerian e-passport.

Parading the suspects before newsmen in Lagos on Tuesday, Comptroller of the Lagos State Command of the NIS, Mr. Lasun Olaitan, said in the course of routine investigation at the airport, NIS officials discovered that the Edo monarch could not give any genuine reasons why he was travelling with the two ladies.

Olaitan said, "We did not allow him to continue with his journey because he could not give genuine reasons why he was travelling with the two ladies. The monarch was also using a diplomatic passport, which is strictly meant for top government officials. This passport is only owned and used by government officials who have official duties to perform for the federal or state government outside the country.

"But the chief said he is going for seven-day holiday in Turkey and you know, the issue of human trafficking has become rampant and we are trying to curb it.

"The situation also became worse when we discovered that the monarch was interrogated in January 2009 for also attempting to carry two ladies abroad and he gave the same reasons."

Olaitan said that while investigations continued, Ebiredelu and the suspected victims of human trafficking would be handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other Related Offences for further questioning.

Speaking angrily however, the monarch said he obtained his diplomatic passport from the Federal Government, adding that it was the sixth that he was using.

He blamed the Immigration for not carrying out proper investigation on the authenticity of his passport and visa before going to the press.

Ebiredelu also clarified that the ladies and not him were intercepted, adding that it became incumbent on him to intervene since they were travelling with him.

When asked if he had any document to show one of the ladies was his wife, he said there was no document, adding that he had three wives and eight children.

The alleged wife, Queen, who appeared weak, said they had been married since 2005, adding that there was no document to show that they were married because they had traditional wedding.

She also claimed to possess an Ordinary National Diploma certificate from Edo State Polytechnic, Usen.

The maid, who said she stopped schooling after obtaining Junior Secondary School Certificate in 2004, but spoke eloquent English Language, also corroborated her master's claim that she was a maid going to Turkey to tend to the monarch.

Olateru-Olagbegi, said this in a statement issued to reporters after the meeting of the chieftaincy committee of the council in Akure.

This is coming as police authorities in Ondo State also said a full scale investigation has begun into the recent public brawl between the Deji of Akure, Oluwadare Adepoju Adesina and his estranged wife, Bolanle.

The command's public relations officer, Adeniran Aremu, said the state commissioner of police has ordered that the matter be investigated as a purely criminal case and not as a domestic affair as is sometimes done.

He said the case had since been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department and the outcome of the investigation would be made known to the public as soon as it is concluded.

"Aside from this, the state police commissioner, Magaji Nasarawa, has already received interim report on the incident," Mr Aremu said.

He also explained that the command had uncovered a plot by some people to foment trouble in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

He warned those planning to cause a breach of peace as a result of the incident to refrain from doing so, stressing that anyone caught taking laws into his hands would be ‘dealt with decisively.'

Oba suspended

Mr Olateru-Olagbegi who condemned the action of the Akure monarch in strong terms, said the decision to suspend Mr Adesina from the council was taken after the examination of all available evidence which includes, "reports from newspapers, petition written to the council, the press releases from the Deji and other independent investigations on the issue".

The council observed that the incident was unfortunate and against the norm for those who sit on sacred and exalted royal stools in the state. "The committee condemned in its entirety the attitude of the Deji and dissociate itself from the action. The Deji is suspended in the interim from the council pending a fuller investigation into the matter and a final position of the state government on it"

The assault

The Deji of Akure, on Sunday evening beat up one of his wives in a manner that shocked the people of the state and elicited condemnation from far and near.

Mrs Adesina had earlier been ordered out of the palace by the monarch,

following a slight disagreement. The traditional ruler then invaded the private residence of his estranged wife with stern looking people,

suspected to be thugs, who thrashed the woman and left her with lacerated arms.

A brother of Mrs Adesina and some passers-by descended on the Nissan Pathfinder brought to the scene by Oba Adesina. The vehicle, marked "Deji of Akure", was seriously damaged by the irate youth, who vowed to deal with him seriously. It took the quick intervention of the police from the state command to save him from being lynched by the irate mob.

Although the king has not made any public statement on the issue, the traumatised wife has urged the state governor, Olusegun Mimiko, to instruct the state commissioner of police to order a full scale investigation into the attack on her person by her husband. Mrs. Adesina, in a petition via her counsel, Ibraheem Aganum and Co. appealed to Mr. Mimiko to use his office to ensure that justice is done. She said the petition became imperative in order to ensure that the case is not swept under the carpet
.