Power-Drunk Ifo Monarch Arraigned For Assaulting Elderly Man In Viral Video

Abeokuta, Ogun State – The Nigerian police have arraigned the traditional ruler of Ifo, Oba Abdulsemiu Ogunjobi, on a three-count charge of conspiracy, assault, and conduct likely to cause a breach of peace following a viral video that captured him attacking an elderly man.

The monarch appeared in court on Tuesday and was granted bail while the case was adjourned to March 6, 2025.

Confirming the development, police spokesperson ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi stated that law enforcement authorities remain committed to upholding justice and the rule of law.

“The Nigeria Police Force will continue to uphold the core values of the noble profession and ensure that no one is above the law,” Adejobi said in a statement.

It would be recalled that a disturbing video has surfaced showing a 73-year-old man, Chief Abraham Areola, being publicly humiliated and assaulted by the Olorile of Orile Ifo, Oba Semiu Ogunjobi, in Ogun State.

The two-minute clip captures one of the monarch’s aides snatching the elderly man’s cap as he kneels, visibly shaken. Another person strikes him from behind, even as he tries to ask, in a calm tone, what he had done wrong.

Oba Ogunjobi can be heard in the video hurling insults at Chief Areola, accusing him of betrayal.

“You are a conspirator and a betrayer,” the traditional ruler says. “Your children will not succeed. It will never be well with you, your wife, and your children. You will continue to live in abject poverty. You will die, and you will turn blind. Whoever thinks he is courageous enough should come out to face me. The entire Ifo land belongs to me.”

The monarch also threatens to use his influence to have Chief Areola imprisoned.

“I will send you to prison. I own the entire Nigeria Police Force. I will send you to prison. Even if you die, we shall bury you, and nothing will happen—nobody will even know,” he boasts.