Ekiti Woman Banished For Refusing Ritual Oath- In 21st Century

Ekiti community banishes widow
•For refusing to take traditional oath
By WOLE BALOGUN
Monday, October 17, 2011

Mrs. Lawrencia Adefemi, an indigene of Emure-Ekiti in Emure Local Government Area of Ekiti State, is a sad woman. And that is quite understandable. She claims to have been banished from her place of birth on the orders of the Emure Council of Chiefs. Her sin? She refused to swear to an oath in the shrine of the community’s traditional gods.

But the town’s monarch and his chiefs have denied the allegation that Lawrencia was banished. They insist, however, that she must swear to the oath if only to prove that she has not been attacking her perceived foes in the town through her diabolical powers.
Trouble started for the woman when she allegedly challenged members of her late husband’s family over what she claimed was the take-over of her husband’s property.

According to her, the man in charge of her husband’s property, one Mr. Isaac Famodimu, the son of the deceased’s elder brother, colluded with the family to rob her and her son of their share of the inheritance. She said since her husband died four years ago, only the first wife, who bore seven children for the deceased, had been enjoying the property with her children.

Lawrencia, who is currently staying somewhere in Akure, Ondo State, told our reporter that when she complained to Famodimu, he assaulted her publicly and also got the police to detain her for days. She said she was hospitalised as a result of the attack.
She said Famodimu later told the town’s Council of Chiefs that she was using diabolical means to attack him and his family. She also said that the council summoned her on the issue and, after hearing her side of the story, demanded that she swear to an oath to convince them that she wasn’t involved in any diabolical mission. But, according to her, she refused, saying such an act was against her Christian faith.

“The council then decided to banish me from the community for failing to take the oath,” she said.
But when the reporter contacted the Elemure of Emure, Oba Emmanuel Adebayo, the monarch said he was not in town when the decision to banish the woman was taken by his chiefs. He asked for time to review the case even as he said the woman could return to the community.

Meanwhile, Lawrencia’s family has petitioned the Inspector General of Police, alleging an infringement on the fundamental human rights of the widow by the Emure council. They are also calling on the appropriate authorities to save her from what they call her undue punishment.


In the petition, copies of which were sent to the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, National Human Rights Commission, Amnesty International, Wife of Ekiti State Governor, Deputy Governor, Ekiti State, Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State and Mr. Femi Falana, they quoted excerpts of Oba Adebayo’s interview published in the Sunday Mirror edition of October 9, 2011. It reads in part: “I am a Christian myself, but I swore before the gods before I ascended the throne.

It is a normal practice here; every traditional chief must swear to an oath before the gods at their installation. The woman in question is very stubborn and lacks discipline. She was confined to her home by the traditional chiefs but failed to observe the order and disobeyed our tradition…. We are not restraining her from the town once she is ready to swear before the gods.”

The reporter visited Akure and Emure-Ekiti where he spoke with the major actors in the unfolding drama. At the palace of the Emure king, a community leader who did not want his name in print admitted that Lawrencia was banished. His words:

“My own position is that when you are in Rome you do like the Romans. When you are in Emure-Ekiti, you behave like the indigenes. She was born and brought up in Emure and the tradition has been there since the days of our forefathers. Taking such an oath has been in practice for many centuries after Emure migrated from Ile-Ife to this place. The Kabiyesi (Oba) is the custodian of our tradition. What is wrong in taking an oath?

The president, governor, etc all take oaths before they are sworn in. Even the Oba takes an oath before he becomes the king. Our practice here is that in a situation where two members of the community are in disagreement and the matter is brought before the Oba, the two parties will be allowed to have their say. And for the Oba to resolve the issue permanently so that peace reigns, he could ask the two parties to take an oath. The essence of that oath is to ensure that after the settlement, none of the parties will commit any evil against the other. If any of the party then commits any evil, such evil will bounce back on him or her.

“Here we believe in our tradition. And if any indigene of the town that has been banished repents, takes the oath and assures the community that he or she would not do any evil to any member of the community, the person will be allowed to return.”

I’m being persecuted unjustly-Lawrencia Adefemi
I was married to my late husband in 1999. I was his second wife. The first wife had seven children for him while I had one for him before he died. Before his death, I was the only one who was taking care of him. The first wife and her children left him when I joined the family. But when he died, the extended family took over his property and appointed his nephew, Mr. Isaac Famodimu, as the caretaker. He is the son of my husband’s elder brother. Since my husband’s death, his family never wanted to see me. They refused to give me and my son our share of my husband’s inheritance. I am just a petty trader and have no money to sponsor my son in school. The family has taken over all the property and if I confront them over it, they would attack me.

Famodimu and the others have been using the proceeds from my husband’s farms to fend for themselves and the children of the first wife. Whenever I confront Famodimu over this issue, he would beat me up and ask the police to lock me up. On one occasion, I was locked up in the police station at Emure for three days. I reported the case to the Emure Council of Chiefs but they did not do anything about it.

Isaac later reported me to the council and said I used diabolic means to attack his family. Then they asked me to take an oath over what I knew nothing about. But I told them I would not do it because I am a Christian and my faith does not permit me to do anything fetish. Then they said I had been banished from the town and gave me an ultimatum of nine days to leave.
When the ultimatum elapsed, I was in the market when the king’s attendant came and ordered me to follow him to the palace. On the way there, an argument ensued and he assaulted me. He then reported me to the police and I was detained there for three days before my people came with a lawyer to secure my release.

I cannot go to Emure now because I believe the leaders of the town do not mean well for me. My life and my son’s life are not safe. I want Nigerians to help me. I want human rights activists and other well-meaning people to come to my aid. They should help me get my share of my husband’s property from his family so that I can sponsor my son in school.

I will review the case - Oba Emmanuel Adebayo
I was in the UK when the Emure Council of Chiefs took the decision of banishment. I have spoken to the chiefs who were there. I don’t know much about the case, but I have sent for the woman to see me. I am going to review the case when I sit in council on October 23. You can also tell the woman to come and see me. I don’t want to make further comments on the matter for now.
The woman is very diabolical - Isaac Famudimu

It’s not true that I’m the caretaker. No, I am very small in the family. I can’t even be saddled with such a responsibility. She said I attacked her severally and that I usually bribe the police to lock her up? Those are big lies. It is true that I am related to her late husband. He was my uncle. But my uncle’s first wife had seven children for him. The last born of that first wife can also say a few things concerning the inheritance left by their father. So she is just telling you lies. She came to se me and told me she wanted me to support her so that she could cheat the children of the first wife but I did not support her. She once asked me to seize her husband’s motorbike used by one of the children of the other wife, Gbenga, but I refused to do so. She even wanted me to arrest Gbenga, but I refused. That is why she has been assaulting and harassing me.

There was a day she confronted me on the street and was insulting me. She said I colluded with the first wife, her children and the family to rob her of her inheritance. She called me a thief. She tore my clothes that day and I had to report her to the police. My clothes that she tore and the case file are still with the IPO at the station. The family of her husband intervened then and asked me to leave her. Eventually, I asked the police to release her.

She said I reported her to the Emure Council? Yes, I did. One day, she met my wife and I and assaulted us. My wife abused her back and they started fighting. That was later settled, but since then, she would fight my wife even in the market even though the tradition of the land forbids a woman from fighting in the market place. The market women and the Emure chiefs can bear witness to this. She started doing that since March this year. But I kept cautioning my wife not to fight her. But the last time they met in the market, I was not there. My wife said she threatened to deal with her, and that my wife would not be able to come to the market again.

My wife reported her to the market women and to the palace. It wasn’t long after that that my wife had her legs swollen. When we took her to one herbalist, he said it was a diabolical attack. I started taking my wife to different places for a spiritual solution. At the end of the day, the herbalist treating my wife went to the farm and met Lawrencia. She told him that he should stop treating my wife, that he should allow my wife to continue to suffer. I wasn’t there, but someone who witnessed the incident told me. Suddenly, the herbalist stopped treating my wife. When I went to beg him, he confirmed what I had been told, that Lawrencia actually said he should stop treating my wife.

A few days later, Lawrencia saw me and assaulted me again. That was when I took her case to the Emure Council. I took my wife there too. She could not even walk. We had to carry her to the palace. And I explained all that had happened to the council. Then they summoned the herbalist to testify. But the first time they wanted all the parties to come to the palace, I had an accident and could not go. I suspect that she must have been attacking me too. But eventually we all met at the council with members of the Emure community and the chiefs. They had confirmed from the herbalist then. So they said that all that had happened was over, but that she should take an oath before all the people that she would do no evil against any of us. But she refused. She wasn’t the only one asked to take the oath. All of us would take it, including my wife and I.

Nobody banished her - Chief Emmanuel Ogundare
I would have conducted the oath taking if she had agreed. Did she say we banished her? That is a lie. She was reported to the council after her late husband’s nephew alleged that she used diabolical means to attack him and his wife. In accordance with our tradition, we wanted to ensure that such would not happen again. We asked each of them to take an oath to assure us that they would no longer do evil to each other. The other party agreed but she refused. But we mean no harm for her.

Banished her? No, she left by herself - Chief Clement Ogunyemi Akinola
I am the Aremo of Emure, and a retired assistant superintendent of police. No one banished Mrs. Lawrencia Adefemi from the town. Members of her family reported her to the Emure Council alleging that she used diabolical means to attack them. They showed us evidence, and after we had listened to both parties; we said for peace to be restored, the parties involved should take an oath that no one would use diabolical means to attack the other again.

That is the custom of the land. The other parties agreed but she refused. But the entire community insisted that she must take the oath. She said instead of taking the oath, she would leave the community. We told her the choice was hers. And she left. She came back later to ask us for a document that would indicate that she had been asked to leave the community but we said we could not give her any paper because we did not banish her. We told her that she had a good case since she was being robbed of her inheritance. But we said before we could go into that matter, we had to be assured that there wouldn’t be any evil in the family any longer. So we asked all the parties to take the oath in accordance with the tradition. We assured her that we would get her inheritance for her once she took the oath.

She said she is a Christian and that she could not do it. Anyway, she can go to court and get a ruling to exempt her from taking the oath. And as a matter of fact, we didn’t restrict her movement in the town. On the allegation that she was assaulted by the palace aide, you know the Elemure is a retired commissioner of police. He knows that he cannot infringe on the fundamental human rights of anyone. She left the town on her own. Her younger brother in the U.S phoned me that they wanted to relocate her from Emure. That was why she left the town. If she said she was beaten by anyone, then that is left for the police to handle. If she’s scared of coming to Emure, you, as a journalist, can even follow her down here. All that was published is all fallacy and cheap blackmail.

No one insulted her. And we did not treat her badly, but she has been disrespecting the entire community. It was her choice to leave the town. The Oba, as the father of everyone in the community, cannot be at peace if anyone here is not at peace. I am a retired police officer and I cannot support any thing that is illegal.

You can’t force her to take an oath – Hon. Boluwade Kehinde
I’m Honourable Boluwade Kehinde, a member of the Ekiti State House of Assembly from Emure. I am very sure my Oba cannot be involved in that. But I have not had time to confirm it from him. I spoke to the younger brother of the woman and he told me that the Oba said he doesn’t know about it. No one can compel anyone to take an oath and then banish the person from the land if she refuses. Emure is not a village where such a thing could be happening. I cannot say much on the issue now because I have not confirmed it. But as for me I cannot take such an oath.

She’s an evil woman - Gbenga Adefemi, Lawrencia’s stepson
Yes, she has a son for my dad. But the last born from my mum is eight years older than her son. So you can see that she came to join us much later. And once she came to our house, she turned our dad against us. There was trouble in the family and our mummy had to leave our dad. The issue was brought before the late Oba of Emure, and we were all asked to take the oath that we would not do evil to anyone. My mum and dad took the oath but she refused then. She left the palace in annoyance. My dad asked us to leave his house because of her but the other people in the family did not know about this then. They thought my mum left on her own. Then our dad became sick and suddenly died.

Just a month after his death, Lawrencia said we should share his inheritance. She started making trouble about it. No one could control her. So when we had a meeting, they told her that she had to be patient. It was then that they put Isaac in charge of the whole thing. In fact, they later began to share out the proceeds from our dad’s inheritance. But she wanted a larger share and was making trouble. Our dad’s elder brother, Baba Gana, did the sharing.

What led to the banishment is that the chiefs asked her to take the oath or leave the town. Now that she has been banished, the only way she could be accepted back into Emure is to take the oath. We are ready to give her her own share of the inheritance but she must take the oath to convince us that she would not do any evil against us. Our mother is sick now and we believe that Lawrencia is behind it.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/oct/17/national-17-10-2011-007.html

I guess its now Ekiti bashing time.

Yawn!!!

please i cant stand to hear this one again

what an archaic way of ilfe !

Idiots.

too lengthy, so bored

South.East:


I am the Aremo of Emure, and a retired assistant superintendent of police. No one banished Mrs. Lawrencia Adefemi from the town. Members of her family reported her to the Emure Council alleging that she used diabolical means to attack them. They showed us evidence, and after we had listened to both parties; we said for peace to be restored, the parties involved should take an oath that no one would use diabolical means to attack the other again.

so THE RETIRED ASSIT SUPT. OF POLICE IS NOW A LAWYER AND A JUDGE.
THIS IS AN EVIL COUNTRY.

I Tire For Some People Pattern,Na By Force

Am against banishing her but to prove that she is innocent, let her take the oath. If she is innocent, nothing will happen to her. I suggest they go to a neigbouring state for the oath taking.

May GOd deliver them all

land of so fvcking called Prof with outdated misbehavior

oath in this century?!!! Are you Bleep'kidding me, what the hell?!!!!!!!!!

She should take no oath oh,  those trado people de manipulate big time, who knows what they will set her up for?!

Andre Uweh:

Am against banishing her but to prove that she is innocent, let her take the oath. If she is innocent, nothing will happen to her. I suggest they go to a neigbouring state for the oath taking.

WhyAWhy:

oath in this century?!!! Are you bleep'kidding me, what the hell?!!!!!!!!!

She should take no oath oh, those trado people de manipulate big time, who knows what they will set her up for?!

Oath taking is more reliable and delivers quick justice. It is our way of life. It should be introduced even at the national assembly.

Andre Uweh:

Am against banishing her but to prove that she is innocent, let her take the oath. If she is innocent, nothing will happen to her. I suggest they go to a neigbouring state for the oath taking.

At this age and time? Under our constitution everyone has right of association. So you can't be forced to swear an oath even in law court. Can the evidence be provened? Then take her to court. Are will still barberians in this country? Even the barberians are now advanced and using IPAD . Everything we do in this country is always backward.

the benefit of polygamy

they should give the poor woman a chance,which kin oath

Andre Uweh:

Oath taking is more reliable and delivers quick justice. It is our way of life. It should be introduced even at the national assembly.

Its presently being done but it seems as if the bible and koran doesnt give instant judgement. we needs the likes of OGUN, SOPONNA, AMADIORA and their likes for effective and quick judgement i guess

Way too long to read, so TLDR,
what I WANT to say is.  when in Rome  do as the romans do, just like they ask non christians to swear on the bible in court, but thankfully as of recent it is no longer required.

ideally though nobody should be put upon

brainpulse:

At this age and time? Under our constitution everyone has right of association. So you can't be forced to swear an oath even in law court. Can the evidence be provened? Then take her to court. Are will still barberians in this country? Even the barberians are now advanced and using IPAD . Everything we do in this country is always backward.

Our judiciary system in Nigeria is corrupt and unreliable. It is high time we pay attention to African justice system. People like Alao-Akala, Gbenga Daniel, Ibori etc should be made to take oath or swear before Amadioha. If Amadioha strikes them dead within 48 hours or afflicts them with deadly diseases, other politicians will be scared to steal.
In this instance, the woman should keep her bible by the side and summon courage to take the oath. Probably, guilty conscience is affecting her. There is a saying in Eastern Nigeria that our rivers does not swallow the innocent.

Demdem:

Its presently being done but it seems as if the bible and koran doesnt give instant judgement. we needs the likes of OGUN, SOPONNA, AMADIORA and their likes for effective and quick judgement i guess

Thanks my brother, people know that the bible and koran are not as deadly as Amadioha, as a result, they have used it to their advantage to render the country poor and dry.
Once again, yes to oath taking.

Andre Uweh:

Our judiciary system in Nigeria is corrupt and unreliable. It is high time we pay attention to African justice system. People like Alao-Akala, Gbenga Daniel, Ibori etc should be made to take oath or swear before Amadioha. If Amadioha strikes them dead within 48 hours or afflicts them with deadly diseases, other politicians will be scared to steal.
In this instance, the woman should keep her bible by the side and summon courage to take the oath. Probably, guilty conscience is affecting her. There is a saying in Eastern Nigeria that our rivers does not swallow the innocent.

Although i am forced to agree wit you a bit, but dont you think that system might be corrupt also, knowing fully well that our people are desperately weaked and will want to get their evil intentions done if it entails bribing the gods.
Everybody should be giving fair hearing inrespective of the crime.

brainpulse:

Although i am forced to agree wit you a bit, but dont you think that system might be corrupt also, knowing fully well that our people are desperately weaked and will want to get their evil intentions done if it entails bribing the gods.
Everybody should be giving fair hearing inrespective of the crime.

I do not know about the Dibias in that area. But from my own part of the East, we have Dibias that see very far and spiritually. Some use the mirror system. This mirror system is like CCTV. Here the culprit is shown for all to see and no denying it.
In this case, it should be applied to bring justice to the town.

@all responders,

don't you all have tradition and culture? must we always behave like the white? why must we always condemn that which is our own?

besides, oath taking is not a preserve of traditions of Africans alone, up till tomorrow, people still swear with Bible, Quran etc in court proceedings.

let her swear if she is innocent.

anybody that is not comfortable with our tradition should go and live in London or America, when in Rome, u must behave like a Romanian

After reading the first 2 paragraphs, i was furious but now my submission is: WHAT THE HELL! WHY NOT TAKE THE OATH, AFTER ALL, SHE IS NOT ONLY ONE GOING TO SWEAR,

However, one critical issue the Council needs to look into is the reason why Ms. Lawrencia is being denied her inheritance.

South.East:

According to her, the man in charge of her husband’s property, one Mr. Isaac Famodimu, the son of the deceased’s elder brother, colluded with the family to rob her and her son of their share of the inheritance.

The relationship with the deceased is quite 'long'. Mr. Isaac must be a lazy zealot human being. Why is he after his own father's inheritance? Why another person's father.

All those small g gods from should  not be trusted,  because sometimes they go beyond their boundaries when they begin their 'jobs'.  Does African benefit from them? the answer is obvious.

Witches do not swear. She knew she will destroy all of them, And she had been warned in her coven not to try it. God is a merciful God. Now witches are using christianity as a canopy to cover thier evil habit. Second wife indeed!

when I was in primary 4, i lived with my grandfather back then in the village. The man had a calabash and a mirror where he communicates live with his friend, if he wants anything from the man, he just open the calabash and the mirror, chants some incantation and pronto, you see his friend live in the mirror and after their discussion, he would ask me to go and get something from the man.

I saw that, and now i saw video telephoning , but people would say it's evil, I only wish i was grown before the man died.

my point, let's stop condemning our own, African tradition and culture is far more deeper and far richer than any other culture on the face of earth.

Too bad! For how long will the windows continue to suffer?govt n Ngo pls do something.

Andre Uweh:

I do not know about the Dibias in that area. But from my own part of the East, we have Dibias that see very far and spiritually. Some use the mirror system. This mirror system is like CCTV. Here the culprit is shown for all to see and no denying it.
In this case, it should be applied to bring justice to the town.

smh. this is a damn shame.

lagcity:

smh. this is a damn shame.

why is it a shame?.

netsurf:

@all responders,

don't you all have tradition and culture? must we always behave like the white? why must we always condemn that which is our own?

besides, oath taking is not a preserve of traditions of Africans alone, up till tomorrow, people still swear with Bible, Quran etc in court proceedings.

let her swear if she is innocent.

anybody that is not comfortable with our tradition should go and live in London or America, when in Rome, u must behave like a Romanian

It shall be well with you.

She claimed toi be a Christian so what is she afraid of. and what is wrong in taking an oath on the terms of tradition. Her life soul and all under any circumstance is still with God.