A traditional ruler in Ekiti State, Oba Felix  Afolabi  Adeniyi,  has  abdicated his throne and gone on self-exile, alleging threat to his life by unknown persons.

The monarch, who addressed newsmen in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday, said he has been on self-imposed exile since August 20, 2012.

The traditional ruler, who is the Oniro of Iro Ekiti, in Gbonyin council area of the state, regretted the state of insecurity in the town, saying it was due to lack of police posts. He called on security agencies in the state to rescue him from those he described as “desperate gunmen”.

He alleged that some gunmen on July 3, 2012, invaded his palace, fired gunshots into the air  and chased away occupants  of the palace, after which they carted away an undisclosed amount of money, royal beads and mobile phones.   He said following the robbery, he and the Oniro-in-Council immediately reported the matter to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Ode Ekiti, headquarters of Gbonyin Local Government, but later withdrew the case based on pressure from home that the matter would be handled traditionally.

He alleged that after the traditional rites had been performed, an indigene of the community confessed that some people paid him a sum N30,000 to kill him (Oba). He called on the police to investigate the matter.

 It would be recalled that about five days ago, the Elemure of Emure Ekiti, Oba Emmanuel Adebayo, was attacked by some youths in the community over what they described as  shoddy handling of reported cases of deaths among youths of the town.