In the said report captioned “Western Ex-pats Financing Self-Defence Guards in Nigeria’s Kogi State,” the publication based its entire offering on a weak foundation of lies, with the writer claiming that His Royal Majesty, the Obaro of Kabba, Oba (Dr) Solomon Dele Owoniyi granted an interview to its reporters which allegedly formed the basis of the false report.

Oba Owoniyi is not aware of any newspaper, physical or virtual, which goes by the name TruthNigeria How then can His Royal Majesty grant an interview to a newspaper which he does not know. In modern practice, if any such interview indeed took place, the reporter would either have taken Kabiyesi’s photograph or requested for a preferred picture from his aides. Rather than do that, the newspaper went to the internet and picked a pre-coronation photo of the Obaro which has for long fallen into disuse.

Having a solid background in journalism practice, Oba Owoniyi is very selective in picking the organisations he speaks to as well as the context and the topics of such engagements.

The Obaro is a traditional ruler who sits on the exalted throne of an ancient kingdom. He abides by the restraints commanded by his high office and therefore, does not trade in the kind of barren boasts ascribed to him in the purported interview with the little known (that is if at all it exists in reality) TruthNigeria.Only recently at the centenary birthday of His Royal Majesty, the Olubunu of Bunuland, Oba Joseph Adebayo Ikusemoro, a group of reporters approached the Obaro with a barrage of questions. He answered the ones that fell under his purview and encouraged them to take those that bordered on security to the State Security Adviser, Commander Jerry Omodara (rtd) who was in the vicinity of the engagement.

The report published by TruthNigeria and attributed to the Obaro is a blatant falsehood which must have been sponsored by those eager to promote confusion in Okunland.

The Royal Court of Kabba is aware that the advent of the internet and the era of the social media has widened the scope of journalism practice. With that expansion has also come the lowering the highly valued standards of professional practice. Hiding behind the mask of anonymity offered by the social media, to perpetrate horrible evils in pursuit of whatever agenda suits their fancy should be an inevitable outcome of the lowering of standards referred to above..

The report mischievously attributed to the Obaro, a claim that the Okun people of Kogi State are being financed by the Okun Diaspora and some Yoruba of the South West of Nigeria to take up arms against so called landgrabbers.

No doubt, some parts of Okunland are having their share of the security challenges facing other parts of the country. No responsible government will close its eyes while purveyors of evil bring destruction to the doorsteps of its people. As a responsible leader, His Excellency, Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo has risen up to the security challenges in the state.

His Royal Majesty, the Obaro of Kabba is aware of the security challenges the people are grappling with. However, Kabiyesi is not in a position to identify those behind those challenges as either Ansari or the Fulani Ethnic Militias (FEM) as claimed by TruthNigeria Similarly, there is no self-defence team that he knows of in Okunland. The effort to restore stability in Okunland is currently being spearheaded by the state government, the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), joint security agencies and local hunters.

Trading in naked falsehood, such as the claim by the publication under reference, that a so-called Okun Joint Community Guards is being sponsored to confront Fulani elements in Okunland does great violence to the integrity of a respectable profession like journalism.

Those looking for fields to sow their seeds of mischief and discord are advised to look elsewhere and leave His Royal Majesty, the Obaro of Kabba, Oba (Dr) Solomon Dele Owoniyi out of their evil enterprise.

The Royal Court of Kabba