Fire guts Oba of Lagos’ palace

The Oba of Lagos Rilwan Akiolu

An afternoon fire destroyed a section of the palace of the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, on Tuesday, causing pandemonium in the Iga Iduganran area of Lagos Island.

It comes exactly a week after the 73-year-old monarch snubbed the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, at a public function in Lagos.

Reports say Akiolu was taken to a safe place immediately after the fire broke out from an air conditioner at about 1:30pm.

The palace gate was, however, shut to the crowd as fire fighters from the Lagos State Fire Service battled to put out the inferno.

It would be recalled that Akiolu snubbed Ogunwusi at the official opening of the 22nd World Conference of Banking Institutes hosted by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos on Tuesday last week.

Consequently, there were reports that the Ooni would invoke the wrath of his ancestors on Akiolu.

The palace in Ife was, however, quick to debunk the reports.