Kogi: Igu, Koton-Karfe kingmakers dare Bello, reject deposition of Ohimege-Igu

All the ruling houses and three surviving kingmakers of Igu and Koton-Karfe Kingdom in Kogi State have rejected the recent deposition of Alhaji Abdulrazaq Isah-Koto, the Ohimege-Igu, Koton-Karfe, by Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, saying it is sacrilege on the Igu traditional institution.

The Ohimege Igu, who was also the Chairman, Lokoja/ Kogi Local Government Area Traditional Council, was deposed and banished to Rijau Local Government Area of Niger State by Governor Bello on January 8, 2024.

Governor Bello also deposed Sam Bola Ojoa, the Olu Magongo of Magongo whom he banished to Salka, Magama Local Government Area of Niger State; and Samuel Adayi Onimisi, the Obobanyi of Emani, who was deposed to Doko, Lavun Local Government Area of Niger State.

Addressing reporters during a protest on Sunday in Abuja, the representative of the eight ruling houses also said the purported coronation of another person as Ohimege will not stand.

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Alhaji Kolo Yakubu Ameh who spoke on behalf of the protesters said the deposition of their revered king was politically motivated and that the coronation and installation of the Ohimege which took place 11 years ago was a cultural tradition and not political.

“After 11 years on the throne, you now came to say you want to depose the King without a fact. This is injustice because politics is involved. We have never selected our king by political appointment.

“We have also rejected the purported appointment of an ohimege during a proclamation on television and on social media on 8th January 2024 and since thereafter. It is pertinent to state that out of the three royal fathers who were purportedly deposed and banished, it is only Alhaji Abdulrazak Gambo Sani Isakoto was replaced immediately by that proclamation with the speed of light. This smacks of arbitrariness and is punitive.

“What has happened on this vexed issue is an anathema and a real mockery of our centuries-long and revered kingship institution of the Ohimege Igu, Koton-Karfe and which if not urgently addressed poses a great and imminent danger to our well-respected and highly acclaimed kingship institution and the peace and tranquillity of our very old kingdom,” Ameh said.

The protesters said it should be on record that the desecration of their age-long customs and traditions cannot be allowed to stand.

He said, “We certainly consider the abominable deposition of our loving and well-respected Ohimege, Alhaji Abdulrazaq Gambo Sani Isakoto as an ugly political vendetta orchestrated by some political lilliputians with bloated images of their perceived personal self-worth.”