Some suspected arsonists on Thursday set ablaze a section of the Palace of Aree of Iree, Osun State.
The incident was the second of such that would occur in the state in the last nine days following last Wednesday’s burning of the palace of Akinrun of Ikirun, where a man, Lukman Olatunji, was also shot dead.
Circumstances surrounding the Aree’s palace fire were sketchy as of the time of filing this report.
However, the newly installed aree, Oba Raphel Oluponle, was one of the three monarchs Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, directed to vacate the palace pending the review of the process that led to their emergence.
In a video obtained from the scene, there was a raging fire in one of the buildings on the palace premises.
The spokesperson for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Osun State, Kehinde Adeleke, confirmed that some youths protesting the arrest of a kingmaker by operatives of the Department of State Services had embarked on a violent protest and set up bonfires on the Iree/Eripa Road.
It was also learnt that the protesters later moved into the palace and set one of the buildings ablaze.
“The palace was partially burn down. Gunshots were also heard. Our men on monitoring also reported that no loss of life yet, but the situation is said to be very tense,” Adeleke concluded.
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