MEMBERS of the Ondo State House of Assembly have suspended one of their own, Mrs. Fola Olaseinde (Yeye), for allegedly possessing fetish objects in her rented apartment.
Olaseinde, who represents Ose State Constituency, was suspended indefinitely.
The Assembly, at a sitting presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Dare Emiola, said the conduct of the lawmaker in whose custody items like coffins and other fetish objects were found impunged on the integrity of the House.
Mrs Olasehinde is one of the three female members of the 26-member House of Assembly.
Olasehunde has been engaged in a verbal war with her landlord, Sir Ogunbadejo Kolawole, a 77-year-old former Commissioner in the state, who incidentally is also an indigene of Ose Local Government .
Ogunbadejo, who owns the twin duplex located at No. 6, Olasehinde Lane, Ijapo Estate, Akure, had last week raised the alarm, following his alleged discovery of several fetish items in the apartment occupied by Hon. Olasehinde.
Ogunbadejo said the scary items, which included small coffins, belong to Olasehinde, who had occupied the apartment since 2009, an allegation which the lawmaker denied.
There has been a protracted disagreement between the house owner and the lawmaker over the years following her alleged failure to pay her rent regularly and her refusal to release the house to the owner after several pleas.
The landlord had given Hon. Olasehinde a quit notice last year, asking the lawmaker to hand over the house by October, 2012. Following the refusal of the lawmaker to hand over the keys to the house in October last year, it was gathered, the landlord was said to have sent his lawyer to her to threaten a legal action.
Ogunbadejo said he had gone to court to get injunction to force all the doors leading to the residence open since the lawmaker refused to quit or pay the rent.
Ogunbadejo said after securing the order of the court, he had gone to the house with two policemen and a court bailiff to forcefully open the doors and regain the possession of the house.
He, however, said he was surprised to have found “some terrible, stinking and ugly fetish items in virtually all the rooms in the house”.
Some of the items found in the house included some amulets sewed and designed to perform some magical functions, pieces of snail shells and ones that were still alive, cow horns of different sizes wrapped with pieces of coloured cloth, a number of small coffins, images of humans and animals, concoction prepared in black clay pots in mixture, grounded soaps as well as bottles and cans containing all manners of liquid.
Some of the personal effects of the lawmaker, including an official House of Assembly vehicle plate number and campaign posters and hand bills, were still found in the house.
But there were no furniture and other belongings in the house.
The landlord was said to have, after the discovery, informed the leadership of the House of Assembly, which was said to have prompted a visit to the apartment by the Deputy Speaker, accompanied by some officials.
The landlord claimed that no one had access to the apartment since it was put under lock and keys by the lawmaker who refused to hand over the keys.
But Hon. Olasehinde, denied the knowledge of such items, saying she had moved all her belongings from the house to her new accommodation at GRA, Alagbaka, Akure since October, 2012.
She claimed that she gave the keys to her Personal Assistant to give to her co-tenant because the two duplexes share the same water system and that the switch to the water system was in her own side apartment.
