The Agemo statue that was commissioned about 21 years ago had been removed while the person suspected to have been behind this sacrilegious act had been struck.
During an attempt to steal the statue of the Agemo deity that was erected at the Mafowoku roundabout, which is located along Folagbade Road in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, a man who has not yet been identified is said to have passed away on Saturday, April 12.
The statue had been commissioned approximately 21 years ago. Agemo is a significant deity in Yoruba religion, revered as a messenger of the gods.
This deity plays a crucial role in carrying messages between gods and is closely associated with the Ijebu people of Ogun State, Nigeria.
Agemo is the primary deity worshipped by the Ijebu people and celebrated as a protector of children and a safeguard for the future of the Ijebu people through blessings.
The Agemo festival is a traditional masked festival held in many Yoruba cities, particularly in the Ijebu people’s land of Ogun State.
Yoruba deities possess spiritual powers that shape the world and human destiny. These powers are often associated with specific domains, such as fertility, thunder, or wisdom etc.
Stealing or misusing these powers can have severe consequences, including divine retributions through calamities, illnesses, spiritual afflictions or death
Some notable Yoruba deities and their powers include:
Oya: Goddess of storms, change, and transformation.
Shango: God of thunder and justice.
Osun: Goddess of love, beauty, and fertility.
Obatala: God of peace, purity, and morality.
Attempts at stealing the deities could be a journey of no return. A suicidal Mission.
The man was depicted in a viral video lying inert in close proximity to the deity’s fallen statue.
Olakunle Kuku who shared the video on Facebook wrote, “A Man was strucked down by Agemo statue in the area Ijebu Ode after trying to cart away the statue, at the early hours of today.
“Eyewitness narrates the she saw crowd around the roundabout itoro where the agemo status is with the man struck down helplessly on the ground.”
The residents of Ijebu-Ode were said to have found themselves awake on Saturday morning and found a young man who was suspected of removing the golden Agemo statue lying next to the relics of the statue on April 13.
One of the residents said, “The incident is real; it happened right in front of my house. We all heard people making noise, and when I got outside, I saw that the Agemo statue that was commissioned about 21 years ago had been removed while the person suspected to have been behind this sacrilegious act had been struck dead.
“I learnt that the body of the deceased had been moved to the mortuary.”