The Department of State Services (DSS) has invited the Oluyin of Iyin-Ekiti, Oba Adeniyi Adeola Ajakaiye, for questioning after he allegedly made a quiet but suspicious demand for the chair used by Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, during a thanksgiving service at Babamuboni Memorial Anglican Church, Iyin-Ekiti.
According to leaked correspondence exchanged between Babamuboni Anglican Church and the Oluyin’s Palace, Governor Oyebanji attended an event at the church on May 31, 2026, at the invitation of the Senate Leader, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, an indigene of Iyin-Ekiti, a few days before the state’s gubernatorial election.
How Oluyin of Iyin-Ekiti Strangely Demanded Governor’s Seat
It was gathered that after the church programme, the Oluyin of Iyin-Ekiti, Oba Ajakaiye, quietly and specifically requested the chair on which the governor had sat during the church service.
The church’s vicar, who suspected foul play in the request from the Oluyin’s Palace, politely declined the unusual and bizarre demand.
According to the church, the refusal angered Oba Ajakaiye, who allegedly influenced the untimely transfer of the church’s vicar, Ven. Dr. Samuel Sunday Agunbiade.
In a letter addressed to the church, the Palace reportedly insisted that the governor’s seat be surrendered for “royal custody and appropriate traditional rites.”
In the said letter from the Oluyin-in-Council to the church, it was stated that “the replacement chair to be commissioned henceforth shall be placed under strict and adequate guard at all times, to avert any future desecration or recurrence of such grave oversight against the sanctity of the stool.”
Meanwhile, the request, which has been described as bizarre in Nigeria’s political and religious history, immediately raised suspicion and outrage within the community.
The Position of the Anglican Church
The Anglican Church, in its formal reply, rejected the demand, stressing that church property is held in trust under ecclesiastical governance. It further explained that the chair no longer existed, having already been dismantled and incorporated into the altar furnishing.
According to the church: “Consequently, the Church is not at liberty to surrender, transfer, or remove dedicated Church property for external purposes outside the procedures prescribed by ecclesiastical authority.
“As custodians of these properties, we are duty-bound to preserve and administer them in accordance with the doctrine, discipline, and governance of the Church.”
Despite the church’s position that it was obliged to strictly adhere to its ecclesiastical responsibilities and constitutional obligations, the Palace reportedly persisted.
Outrage in Iyin-Ekiti as Residents React
Residents of Iyin-Ekiti alleged that the monarch’s insistence was not cultural but sinister, with claims that the chair might have been sought for ritual manipulation against the governor, who was preparing for his re-election at the time.
They noted that the reported invitation by the DSS to the Oluyin underscored the seriousness with which the security agency viewed the matter, stressing that there could be sinister motives behind the unusual demand.
It was equally gathered that the fallout extended to the church leadership. Ven. Dr. Agunbiade, the vicar who stood firm against the Palace’s demand, was transferred under circumstances widely perceived as punitive.
Residents noted that while governors, presidents and other dignitaries have attended church services across Nigeria, including Ekiti State, for decades, there had never been a reported demand for their chairs to undergo “traditional rites.”
They described the incident as mischievous and called for a thorough investigation by the DSS to unravel the circumstances surrounding the request and determine the motives behind the monarch’s demand.
