Fire razes part of Ooni’s palace

A building located within the premises of Ile Oodua Palace of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has been razed down by fire, destroying valuables. According to a source at Enuwa, Ile-Ife, where the palace is located, the incident happened around 11:30 pm Friday. It was also learnt that when the smoke was noticed, the entire premises was thrown into panic, as those within the vicinity rallied efforts to prevent the fire from spreading to other parts of the palace. A statement by the monarch’s spokesperson, Moses Olafare, obtained in Osogbo on Saturday, said no casualty, no loss of any cultural item or injury was recorded in the inferno and blamed the incident on a power surge. It further read in parts, “A building apartment within the courtyard of the Palace Of The Ooni Of Ife was at about 11:30 pm yesterday engulfed in flames of fire incident triggered by a power surge which exploded through electrical appliances in the affected apartment. “The inferno did not spread beyond the affected building located at a section of the palace premises, as it was swiftly put off through the combined efforts of the Government Fire Service, OAU Fire Service & Palace Emergency Control Unit. “No casualties, no injuries recorded, no cultural items lost,” Olafare said.