Suspected thugs today December 28, strpped naked Don Pedro Obaseki, a veteran filmmaker and a cousin of former governor of the state, Godwin Obaseki, in Benin City, the Edo state capital.
In a video circulating on the internet on Sunday, Obaseki was seen being attacked at Uwa Primary School, where he had gone to play football.The video showed the moment he was also dragged before some chiefs at the Oba’s palace where he was made to kneel down.
The suspected thugs reportedly told palace guards that they had brought an Oghion (enemy) of the Oba.
Recall that Obaseki clashd with the throne during his tenure as governor when heplaced a ban on Okaigheles (youth leaders) in Benin Kingdom’s seven local government areas of the state. Obaseki at the time said that the activities of Okaighelese fueled cultism in the state. The palace however rejected the ban saying Okaigheles have been a part of the Benin tradition. The then-governor also fell out with the palace over the repatriation of thousands of artifacts (the Benin Bronzes) looted by British forces in 1897.
The Oba maintained that the artifacts were stolen from the Palace and should return to the Palace. However, the then-governor proposed the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA), managed by a private entity.
It is unclear what Don Pedro may have said against the Palace that led to his ass@ult.
