Ooni of Ife Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, and part of the palace gutted by fire

By Nehru Odeh

One of the buildings at the palace of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, was late Friday night gutted by fire.

However, the fire incident which occurred around 11:30p.m., did not spread to other sections of the palace as the fire was successfully extinguished, the Vanguard reported.

Ooni’s spokesperson, Moses Olafare, while confirming the incident, disclosed that the fire was triggered by power surge, which made electrical appliances explode.

Olafare, in a statement, said the fire incident affected only a building within the courtyard and was quickly put out by the combined efforts of the State Fire Service Department and that of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ile.

The statement read: “A building apartment within the courtyard of the Palace of the Ooni Of Ife was, at about 11:30p.m. yesterday (Friday), engulfed in flames triggered by power surge which exploded through electrical appliances in the affected apartment.

“The inferno did not spread beyond the affected building located at a section of the palace premises.

“It was swiftly put out through the combined efforts of the Government Fire Service, OAU Fire Service and Palace Emergency Control Unit.

“No casualties or injuries were recorded, and no cultural items was lost. Thanks to the Almighty Olodumare.”

Recall that a similar incident occurred in August 2020, when fire gutted a section of the administrative building of the palace.

The fire was suspected to have been caused by an electric spark, even though no one was injured in the incident.