Ooni, Oluwo feud deepens as murder plot allegations rock Osun palaces

The simmering rivalry between the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, and the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, has erupted into fresh controversy, with accusations of conspiracy, betrayal, and attempted murder shaking Osun’s royal circles.

In a video posted on Instagram, Oba Akanbi accused the Ooni of colluding with his former wife, Chanel Chin, to poison and kill him during their marriage. Chin, the Canadian-born daughter of Jamaican reggae singer Ludlow “Bobo Zaro” Chin, left the palace in 2019 after three years of marriage.

“He was looking for my downfall, and they packaged a woman for me. She poisoned me twice, there were assassination attempts, and they set me up in many ways,” the Oluwo alleged. “After I uncovered the plot, I sent her away, and it was Ooni who accommodated her.”

The Oluwo further claimed that the Ooni maintained an affair with his estranged wife and provided her accommodation after their separation. “This fight will never end. No one can kill me, not even their gods. Only God will decide when I die,” he declared.

But the Ooni’s spokesperson, Moses Olafare, dismissed the allegations as unfounded, describing them in a chat with Premium Times as childish and unworthy of serious attention.

“If someone claims his life is under threat, the proper thing is to report to security agencies, not to go on social media,” Olafare said. “This is not the first time he is making such accusations, but he has never gone to the police. That shows they are baseless.”

Olafare added that the Ooni had no business with the Oluwo’s ex-wife. “The matter between him and his former wife is private. She has moved on, and so has he. Bringing Ooni into it makes no sense.”

The latest allegations have deepened a long-running feud between the two first-class monarchs, highlighting divisions within Osun’s traditional leadership.