The Delta State Police Command on Friday confirmed that he had handed over the traditional ruler of Ewu-Urhobo Kingdom, His Royal Majesty, Clement Oghenerukevwe Ikolo, Urhukpe 1, to the military barely few hours after turning himself in for investigation.
It was gathered that the monarch was flown to Nigerian Defence Headquarters in Abuja moment after he was handed to military authority in Asaba, the state capital.
HRM Ikolo was one of the eight persons including a professor that were declared wanted by the military over their alleged involvement in the killing of 17 soldiers gruesomely murdered by unknown gunmen around Okuama community in Ughelli South LGA.
NIGER DELTA TODAY Online reports that the royal father presented to Commissioner of Police in Delta few hours after he was declared wanted on Thursday.
Okuama, an Urhobo community, is one of the over 40 communities under the lordship of the monarch in Ewu-Urhobo Kingdom.
Ikolo has been living in London, United Kingdom, before was recently selected and crowned as Ovie of Ewu-Urhobo.
The spokesperson of the state police command, SP Bright Edafe, confirmed that the monarch had bee handed to the military to NIGER DELTA TODAY Online on Friday.
According to the police image-maker, “Confirmed. He has been handed over to the military this morning.”
The monarch had earlier told journalists, “I am really very surprised and taken aback that my name as the monarch of the Kingdom will appear in the list of wanted persons. I have no hands in killing, I have no hands in encouraging anybody to kill anybody. It is against my philosophy as a human being and faith as a Catholic, it is against it.
“This is a serious crime against humanity and I think they need to look at the appropriate places. They need to do a thorough investigation to know those who have committed this and bring them to book let justice prevail. I am not a party to this, like I said earlier, the state government is aware.
“They know the turbulence I have been going through even up till now. As we speak, an arrangement was made by the government to invite the opponents recently, to invite those who are fighting me in the Kingdom to a meeting to reconcile whatever differences so that they can allow me go into the Kingdom and start to rule as the monarch of the place.
“I have not been able to set up anything. I haven’t been able to set up my traditional council; I have done nothing in the Kingdom. So I barely know anything right now, I have no information, I know nothing.
“I am only just in the process to set up a structure to enable me rule in the Kingdom before this whole thing happened.”
