…accuses him of abducting community’s crown prince
- I know nothing about his disappearance – John Omoregie
Tension is currently brewing in Ovbenisi village in Uhunwunde Local Government Area of Edo State following the sudden disappearance, since March 10, 2017, of the Crown Prince of the community, HRH Iyobosa Omoregie.
The crown prince, who is also a professional musician, was, according to his mother, Mrs. Grace Omoregie, last seen in the community during an attack on the private residence of his late father, H.R.H Oziegbe Omoregie, the former Enogie of Ovbenisi, by persons suspected to be loyalists of his uncle, John Omoregie.
The crown prince’s mother accused her brother-in-law of allegedly planning to kill her son, the heir apparent to the throne, in order to become the next traditional ruler of the community.
She alleged that her brother-in-law, who is an influential businessman, was bent on being enthroned as the Enogie or king of the community against the tradition of the community, which has given the right to the young crown prince to succeed his late father.
She, however, said that her brother-in-law should be held responsible if anything untoward happened to her young son, whose whereabouts had since become shrouded in mystery.
“If anything happens to my son, it is the fault of his uncle. He wants to be the Enogie at all costs. He wants to kill my son so that he will become the King. I have told him that it will be over my dead body,” she said.
The crown prince’s mother claimed that trouble started in May 2016 following, ”the assassination of my husband, the king, H.R.H Oziegbe Omoregie, the Enogie of Ovbenisi, by unknown persons, who were after his life for reasons we don’t know.
I have not set my eyes on my son since that day, because when John (Omoregie) attacked our house in the middle of the night, as usual with his thugs, to kill my son and take over the throne, my son jumped out through the window
“As required by Benin tradition, my son, Prince Iyobosa Omoregie, who inherited the Kingship, as the surviving son and Crown Prince, performed the traditional rites, including the burial of his father, preparatory to ascending the throne.
“But unknown to us, this John (Omoregie), who is my late husband’s brother, because he has money and he is very influential and desperate, had his eyes on the throne. We did not know this until January 5, 2017, when he led thugs to attack me and my son at home. He warned the prince to step down from the throne in two weeks or face consequences.”
Speaking further, she said, “He told the Prince to forget about ascending the throne that his father had left for him because he’s too young to be the ruler of the community. This was shortly after the burial rites for the late king.
”About two weeks later on January 19, John (Omoregie), true to his threat, stormed the palace with armed thugs and mercenaries, who beat me and my daughters up and destroyed so many things, including household items.
“My son was not home at home when they came. So, they marched to his booking office, where they found him and beat him up mercilessly, leaving him for dead. They also destroyed most of his musical instruments.”
The crown prince’s mother added that with the continued threats and attacks on him and his entire family, “the Prince thought it wise and went to report the incident to the police, but they were asking for a huge sum as bribe before arresting John, and till date, they have not made any effort to apprehend him.
”He (crown prince) also went to the Oba of Benin, the Head of the Benin Kingdom, to report the incident, since the police failed him, but he did not have the opportunity to meet the chiefs designated to resolve the matter on the appointed day at the Oba’s Palace. Ever since, efforts to get another appointment with the chiefs have also failed.”
Apparently irked by the audacity of the crown prince and his mother to report him to the Benin monarch and the police, John was said to have organised another attack on their residence in the night of March 10, 2017, with suspected thugs, who destroyed more household items after beating up members of the family.
She further alleged that during the melee, the thugs abducted the crown prince, but he later escaped from captivity and had since then taken refuge in an unknown location.
The crown prince’s mother said, “I have not set my eyes on my son since that day, because when John (Omoregie) attacked our house in the middle of the night, as usual with his thugs, to kill my son and take over the throne, my son jumped out through the window, but the thugs grabbed him and beat him up before they all drove away with him to where I still don’t know.
”I ran to the police station almost naked, but they promised to investigate the case. Three days after, my son called me to say that one of His uncle’s thugs guarding him set him free and told him to run for his life because his uncle planned to kill him. He did not tell me where he was and I have not heard from him since then.
“This is why I am afraid for his life. Because of his uncle, he has gone into hiding. I don’t know what to do, although the police say they will intensify efforts to arrest John to answer questions about the Prince’s whereabouts since the last attack.”
Reacting, John (Omoregie) dismissed the allegations made against him by the mother of the crown prince, saying he knew nothing about what he was being accused of by his late brother’s wife.
He declined to speak further, saying, “My brother, it is sad to hear my brother’s wife accusing me of the disappearance of her son. All she accuses me of, I know nothing about it. For security reasons, I will not talk further, but soon I will call you to give you a full interview.”
