Late Osegbowa not wife or in-law to Oba of Benin, family insists

Jethro Ibileke/Benin

Members of the Osegbowa family of Benin Kingdom have disociated themselves from a publication in the social media, allegedly posted by one Erhanomigho​ Edegbe (based in the United States of America), about the gruesome murder of Madam Felicia Osegbowa​.

The late Madam Osegbowa who was murdered a few weeks ago, at Upper Sakponba axis of Benin, by yet to be unidentified gunmen, was allegedly referred to as a mother-in-law of the Benin monarch by the publication.

But the Osegbowa family, in a statement signed by its Okaegbe (Family Head), Victor Iguodala Osegbowa, disociated itself from the publication, describing it as negative and nefarious and a “calculated attempt by the author to pitch the Osegbowa family against the highly revered Benin monarch and the Benin Traditional Council.

“The author, Erhanomigho Edegbe is not a member of the Osegbowa family and he has not been engaged or mandated to be the family spokesman.

“The information he is circulating in the social media at best can be regarded as the figment of the author’s imagination, which shows his personal hatred for the Osegbowa family and denigration of the rich custom and tradition of Benin Kingdom.

For the avoidance of doubt, the deceased woman, madam Felicia Osegbowa was neither a queen mother nor her daughter an Oloi and they are not mother of all Edos as reported in the social media.

“Furthermore, there is no unusual quiet in the Palace of the Oba of Benin as reported in the social media, that is because normal activities and events​ are going on in the Palace unhindered,” the statement said.

The Osegbowa family also called on security agencies to unravel the circumstances that led to the murder of Madam Felicia Osegbowa, with a view to arresting and bringing the perpetrators to justice.