The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, refutes recent reports claiming he visited the incarcerated former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, at Kuje jail.
Moses Olafare, the monarch’s spokesperson, clarified on Wednesday that Oba Ogunwusi was present at the prison on behalf of the Hopes Alive Initiative (HAI), a non-governmental organization supporting the facility owned by Queen Temitope, one of his wives.
Olafare explained that, in celebration of the Ooni’s eighth anniversary, a program was organized in collaboration with the Kuje correctional administration.
The initiative aimed to instill hope in prisoners, focusing on facilitating their successful reintegration into society after completing their sentences.
“The intent of those spreading the news was to blackmail the monarch; there is nothing hidden about the event. In any case, the king never met Emefiele because it was an official event organised by the NGO in conjunction with the Kuje Correction Centre.
“The programme centres around giving hope to the inmate that, after serving out their terms, they still have hope to reintegrate back to the society. The Arole Ooni was invited to chair the event in commemoration of his eighth anniversary on the throne.
“What is exclusive about a public programme where different public figures spoke and representatives of the inmate also spoke? How then did the Ooni manage to meet Emefiele?
“We must be careful with how people spread falsehoods about people. The video of the event is available to the public. I am not even sure Emefiele attended the programme because he is only in detention and not an inmate yet, so why link the programme to Emefiele? It is simply to achieve blackmail,” he stated.
