A suspected thief, allegedly identified as Jeremiah Kosesochi Nwoke has reportedly died while attempting to cart away the Agemo statue located at the Itoro Roundabout in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.
The incident, which occurred at midnight on Friday, April 11, 2025, has shocked residents. The statue stands near the roundabout leading to the ultramodern palace of the Awujale of Ijebuland.
It was gathered that the deceased allegedly made several futile efforts under the cover of darkness to uproot and steal the symbolic statue.
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VIDEO: Man Reportedly Dies While Trying to Cart Away Agemo Statute in Ijebu
A yet-to-be-identified and confirmed thief has reportedly died while attempting to cart away the Agemo statue located at the Itoro Roundabout in Ijebu Ode. pic.twitter.com/0mAaUxdMte
— HifoxNews (@hifoxnews) April 12, 2025
However, the deceased allegedly uprooted the heavily-padded statue but died in the process of carting it away.
Agemo is a spirit deity in Ijebu, who is believed to be a protector of children and who safeguards Ijebus future through its blessing. The diety is being honoured with a festival called Agemo Festival. It is a masked or masquerade festival traditionally held in many Yorubaland.
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The festival is linked with the traditional African religion, in particular, the practices of the Agemo cult and as such, issues like restriction of movement during certain periods of the festival do occur.
The festival is mostly celebrated during between the months of June and August,[2] and historically coincided with the harvesting of maize by Ijebu farmers.
The period of the festival takes seven days and the beginning period is fixed after a consultative meeting between the Awujale of Ijebu and the heads of the sixteen recognized or titled agemos also called Olofas.
The festival was historically preceded by seven days of chants by the Oro cult and the beating of drums to ‘gbedu’ music.
Thereafter, sixteen agemo masquerades from different villages proceed to their shrine at Imosan, via Ijebu-Ode on an annual pilgrimage. Each agemo carries items such as feathers and ram’s horns on the head and are followed by some agemo followers.
It is considered a taboo for a woman to see the agemo masquerade during their procession to Imosan. On their pilgrimage, the agemo masquerade stops to receive gifts and offer prayers to residents.
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