A three-month mourning period has been declared for the late Ijaw monarch of Seimbiri Kingdom in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, Charles Ayemi-Botu.
The deceased, popularly known as the Lion of the Niger, was the first Executive Chairman of the Traditional Rulers of Oil Minerals Producing Communities of Nigeria and the Life Patron of the body.
His death was formally announced on Saturday at a meeting of the Traditional Council of Chiefs of Seimbiri Kingdom through the spokesman, Chief Alexander Ebisine, at Okpokunou, the traditional headquarters of the kingdom.
According to the spokesman, the monarch died on 5th October 2023. He was aged 75.
To mourn the monarch, the traditional council stated that there would be no social activities such as weddings and burials, throughout the mourning period beginning from last Friday.
After the mourning period, the date would be announced for the funeral of the monarch, the council said.
The traditional council described the king as “a great ruler who came, saw, and conquered, leaving behind a trail of unprecedented development in the Seimbiri Kingdom during his 29-year reign on the throne”.
The spokesman stated, “On behalf of the Seimbiri Traditional Council of Chiefs, I wish to officially announce the transition of our most revered monarch, King Charles Ayemi-Botu, Paramount Ruler of Seimbiri Kingdom, to the great beyond to join his ancestors.
“King Charles Ayemi-Botu passed away peacefully on 5th October 2023.
“Following the passage of our monarch, three months of mourning has been declared in the Seimbiri Kingdom.
“During this period, there will be no social activities such as marriages and burials, etc., throughout mourning”.
Ebisine noted that all sons and daughters of the Seimbiri Kingdom at home and in the diaspora are in a mourning mood and will remain so until the final burial ceremony is completed.
He said that a condolence register had been opened at the palace and his residence in Warri.
Also commenting on the incident, the Chairman of the Seimbiri Traditional Council of Chiefs, Chief T.M.O. Douglas, said the kingdom had lost a king whose voice on issues of development in the Niger Delta could not be surprised.
With the kingdom in a mourning mood, he urged for calm just as he advised all to maintain the sanctity of the passage of the Seimbiri monarch.
The deceased was born on 18th January 1948, at Okpokunou in the then Western Ijaw.
He reigned for 29 years, having ascended the throne on April 4, 1995, when he was presented with the Staff of Office by the then Military Administrator of Delta State, Group Captain Ibrahim Kefas, after being crowned on April 2, 1994, in line with the customs and traditions of Seimbiri Kingdom.
