Osun: Ilesa adjusts planned curfew to accommodate Lent, Ramadan
By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo
The Palace of the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Osun State, has announced a revised curfew in Ilesa for the coronation rites of Oba Clement Adesuyi Haastrup, the Owa Obokun Adimula of Ijesaland.
Initially scheduled from 6 p.m. on March 10, 2025, to 6 a.m. on March 11, 2025, the curfew has been adjusted to allow Christian and Muslim faithful to observe Lenten and Ramadan fasts.
The new curfew hours will be in effect from 9:30 p.m. on Monday, March 10, 2025, to 6 a.m. on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. During this time, both human and vehicular movement within the town will be restricted.
The media aide to the monarch, Isaac Haastrup, in a statement made available to journalists in Osogbo, said, “In response to the request of Oba Clement Adesuyi Haastrup, the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, to permit Christian and Muslim faithful to observe the current Lenten and Ramadan fasts, the traditionalists in charge of the rites leading up to the Owa Obokun’s coronation ceremony have relaxed the curfew that was originally scheduled for Monday, March 10, 2025, to Tuesday, March 11, 2025.”
Haastrup stated that the curfew is a traditional requirement as the king visits the Ipebi, a sacred place of seclusion for final coronation rituals.
Members of the public have been encouraged to adhere to the revised curfew as part of the cultural and traditional practices of Ijesaland.
The curfew is scheduled to be lifted at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.
