Oluwo’s ex-wife breaks silence over Ooni allegations

Former wife of the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, Queen Chanel Chin, has fired back at the monarch, calling him a “deadbeat father” after he accused the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, of conspiring with her to bring him down.

Chanel, a Canadian-born daughter of Jamaican reggae artiste Ludlow “Bobo Zaro” Chin, described the monarch’s recent claims as “false and damaging.”

The Oluwo had in a video shared on his Instagram page alleged that the Ooni of Ife plotted against him by arranging his marriage to Chanel.

“He (Ooni) was looking for my downfall, and the next thing, they packaged a woman for me. I don’t know her from Canada. It was a setup,” the monarch said.

He further alleged that Chanel tried to poison him twice, made attempts on his life, and gave birth to a child whose paternity he now doubts.

“She had a child, which I don’t even know if it’s mine. I have to confirm that through DNA,” the Oluwo claimed, while also accusing the Ooni of harbouring and having an affair with her.

Efforts to reach the Ooni’s media aide, Moses Olafare, for a reaction were unsuccessful as of press time.

In a swift response on Instagram on Friday, Queen Chanel dismissed the monarch’s allegations, saying she met him through a respected Lagos monarch, not through the Ooni.

“I was introduced to Mr Akanbi by a respected Lagos monarch, not by the Ooni of Ife. During my time as Olori, I regarded this Lagos monarch as my royal father and still do,” she wrote.

She accused the Oluwo of neglecting their son, Prince Oduduwa, for more than five years.

“Mr Akanbi has been absent from Prince Oduduwa’s life for over five years. He resurfaced in August this year in Canada, refused to sign passport papers, but dropped $500 — the first support Oduduwa has ever received since we left the palace,” she alleged.

Chanel urged the public to ignore the monarch’s claims and called on traditional institutions to caution him.

“This shall be my final statement on the matter. Prince Oduduwa remains my beloved son, and I hold the Yoruba people in deep love and respect,” she said.

The Oluwo and Chanel Chin met at a party in Lagos in 2015 and got married shortly after. Their marriage collapsed in December 2019, with the monarch citing “irreconcilable differences.”