BY ONYEKACHUKWU IBEZIM – After almost four years in exile and away from the throne, the traditional ruler in Delta State, His Royal Majesty, Sampson Ogugu I, the Osuvie of Agbarho Kingdom, on Monday regained his throne amidst tight security in the area.
Agbarho is an ancient Urhobo kingdom in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State and as early as 5 am, armed police personnel had mounted barricades on all the roads around the popular 5 junctions leading to the palace.
Expectedly, the First Bank branch by the market, the market itself, and all stores around the market area were closed for business in what a competent source described as a deliberate plan by security agencies to ensure there was no breakdown of law and order on the return of the illegally deposed monarch.
Following the crisis that rocked the kingdom, His Royal Majesty, Sampson Ogugu I, was sacked by a contending faction in December 2018 and driven away from the palace. In his place, the faction installed Chief William Onokpite as the new monarch.
However, luck was against the newly installed King Onokpite as he failed to enjoy recognition from the Delta State government despite spending almost four years on the throne.
Things took a different turn on Monday, September 26, 2022, as the embattled HRM Sampson Ogugu I drove into the palace triumphantly at about 9:30a.m amid excitement and thrills by the jubilant crowd.
A thankful Ogugu, who spoke to journalists about his return to the palace, said the years ahead would be for promoting peace and the common good of the kingdom, even as he commended the State Commissioner of Police, Ari Muhammed Ali, for providing adequate security to herald his return to the throne.
Settling down to business, the visibly excited royal father ordered the crowd to take out all pieces of furniture in the palace to make space for the new ones that would be procured while some clergymen were also seen at the scene praying and destroying some objects suspected to be fetish that littered the palace.
Also, a group of excited youths and women of the Kingdom were seen carrying chairs, air conditioners, mattresses, and other valuables in the palace while two young men wore caps said to be crowns recovered from the deserted palace.
In the process, some women apparently loyal to a rival group, who made attempt to protest against the monarch’s return, were rebuffed and stopped from coming close to the palace by the security personnel on guard.
Reports also indicated that police operatives have taken over the kingdom to enforce the new dispensation and avert possible breakdown of law and order.
