The Ooni of Ife Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi has denied the viral photos on social media and stressed that the face of his newborn son public contrary to pictures being circulated on social media, his media aide has aide.
The palace’s director of media and public affairs Moses Olafare said in a statement on Tuesday that the pictures were not from the palace and did not represent the heir to the throne.
“Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, who has the sole right to make the face of the baby public, is yet to do so, as essential traditional rites to formally welcome the Prince in accordance to our culture and traditions are still ongoing,” the statement read.
“The Arole Oduduwa wishes to unequivocally and emphatically state that the pictures are not that of his son, he wants the public to ignore the social media circulation of the pictures capable of threatening the privacy of the babies in those pictures and their parents.”
The statement urged “journalists and bloggers to always verify sources of news materials and pictures before publishing or posting to avoid ‘Invasion of Privacy’ which is an actionable offence punishable by law.”
The Ooni welcomed a baby boy with his wife Olori Moronke Silekunola on November 18.
