The claims made by an individual who falsely claimed to be the son of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, have been strongly refuted by the monarch himself.
In a widely circulated video, the unidentified man alleged that he and his mother were kept hidden by the Ooni, and were instructed to keep his true identity a secret.
However, the Ooni has categorically denied any association with the claimant and has distanced himself from these baseless allegations.
“Oba Enitan Ogunwunsi is my father. He hid me with my mother with a clear instruction that I must not reveal myself,” the man dressed in a white Agbada said in Yoruba.
Responding to the viral video, the palace spokesperson, Moses Olafare, issued a statement on Thursday categorically denouncing the man’s claims as an act of impersonation.
Olafare further disclosed that the issue had been reported to the appropriate security agencies for necessary follow-up.
Emphasizing the monarch’s stance, Olafare affirmed that as a responsible father and custodian of tradition, the Ooni of Ife is well-aware of and recognizes all his children, and is fully committed to taking accountability for them without hesitation.
According to him, “Our attention has been drawn to an amateur video clip featuring a grown-up individual claiming to be a son of our father, Arole Oodua Olofin Adimula, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja ll, the Ooni of Ife, virally trending across various online platforms.
“The self-acclaimed prince was unknown to the palace and the Ile-Ife populace
“He is not a child of Ooni Ogunwusi as fraudulently claimed and also never related in any way to any lineage of the Ogunwusi royal family and the Giesi royal compound of Ile-Ife at large.
“We categorically condemn and denounce this shameless act of impersonation in the strongest possible terms.
“It is imperative to clarify that the Ooni of Ife, as a responsible father and custodian of tradition, knows and acknowledges all his children and stops at nothing to take full responsibility for them (both those who are in Nigeria and outside the country).”
