Cult members believed to be members of the
Isoro cult group in Ile Ife on Friday seized the corpse
of Obalufe of Iremo Quarters, Ife, Oba Solomon
Omisakin, for some hours before the remains were
released for burial.

Our correspondent gathered on Saturday that there
was confusion at the Iremo Palace of the late Obalufe, who was the prime minister of Ife. He was
the head of the Ife kingmakers who administered Ife
during the interregnum created by the demise of Oba Okunade Sijuwade.

Obalufe died on October 15 shortly before the new
Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, was announced
as Sijuwade’s successor.

Sources told journalists that the initial rumour in Ife
on Friday was that members of Ogboni Confraternity
were the ones who seized the corpse. However, they
later said those who seized the corpse had nothing to do with Ogboni.

When contacted on the telephone by our
correspondent, the Obadio of Ife, Oba Olajide Faloba, who is the head of the Isoro cult said his group knew nothing about the incident.

He said Obalufe was not indebted to Isoro in anyway, saying he would have been informed if those who seized the corpse were members of the cult.

But different sources confirmed to our correspondent that the corpse was seized by the cult, who demanded N500, 000 and other items from children of the deceased before they could be
allowed to bury their father. The seizure caused a
delay as the family could not bury the dead in the
morning the interment was scheduled.

It was gathered that the family members paid some
undisclosed amount and bought some items for
sacrifice for the members of the group who disrupted the burial before the remains of Obalufe
were interred later on Friday evening.

PUNCH