A fire outbreak occurred on Friday night in a building inside the palace of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi.
Ooni’s spokesperson, Moses Olafare, who confirmed the incident in a statement on Saturday, said the fire was triggered by power surge, which made electrical appliances to explode.
According to him, the fire incident which occurred around 11:30p.m., did not spread to other sections of the palace as the fire was successfully extinguished.
He said only a building within the courtyard was affected before the fire was quickly put out by the combined efforts of the State Fire Service Department and that of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ile.
Olafare said no life was lost to the inferno and all cultural items within and around the scene of the incident were fully intact without being affected by the incident.
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.”
See photos and video below:
PHOTOS: Fire Razes Part Of Ooni's Palace
A building located within the premises of Ile Oodua Palace of Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has been razed down by fire, destroying valuables.
According to a source around Enuwa, in the Ile-Ife area of Osun State, pic.twitter.com/AD8fdhQUtc
— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) April 29, 2023
Fire Guts Ooni's Palace
— Instablog9ja (@instablog9ja) April 29, 2023
KanyiDaily recalls that Queen Ashley Ogunwusi, one of the wives of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, had recently invoked the gods to give her a set of twins.