Ooni Of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade’s Remains Arrive In Ile-Ife

The remains of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade may have arrived at his palace in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Punch reports.

A source close to the palace told our correspondent on Saturday that the body of the late monarch arrived at the palace in the early hours of Saturday.

The source said, “One of the sons of the Ooni travelled to the United Kingdom on Tuesday when the incident happened and I was told that he was part of the entourage that accompanied the body back to Nigeria. The body was said to have been brought back to the palace in the early hours of Saturday.

“I did not see it myself but I was told that the body had arrived. Although the cutting of the tree and the closure of market which are some of the signs of mourning have not been done, there are some other indications that the body might have arrived.

“Security has been beefed up and nobody is allowed to access the inner part of the palace. The body will not be kept where just anybody can see it and only the male children of the Ooni and some high chiefs can see the body.”

Meanwhile the Ooni’s son, Adegbite Sijuwade, is going ahead with his wedding to an actress and television presenter, Dolapo Oni.

The wedding ceremony holds in Lagos today.

Amid speculations that the wedding ceremony might be postponed over the event, the younger Sijuwade, on Saturday, shared a photograph of himself and his bride-to-be, Dolapo, on his Instagram page and wrote, “Sunday, August 2nd.”

The post had attracted congratulatory messages from his followers.

Meanwhile, a palace source confirmed that the wedding would hold today. “It has not been postponed. If the Ooni is dead as being rumored, the Olori (king’s wife) will definitely not be in a good mood. But she is cheerful and eagerly waiting for the ceremony,” he said.