Attah Ameh Oboni, a highly esteemed Igala King, faced a remarkable incident during a meeting in Kaduna attended by prominent traditional rulers in Nigeria, including the Queen of England. Asked to remove his cap to greet the Queen, Attah Ameh, unlike others, refused due to the cultural taboo of doing so in public. History recounts that bees swarmed the entire hall when he reluctantly complied, causing chaos as the Queen and others fled.
Subsequently, Attah Ameh was ordered to be arrested, but the handcuffs mysteriously fell off. Though locked up on the instructions of Northern rulers, he managed to escape undetected. In a daring move, he instructed his driver, Amanabo, to leave while he was confined, promising not to look back until feeling a cool breeze in the car. Despite initial reluctance, Amanabo eventually obeyed, and when he sensed the cool breeze, Attah Ameh was found seated inside the car.
This incident angered many traditional rulers, primarily from the northern regions, leading to efforts to remove Attah Ameh from the throne. Meanwhile, internal enemies sought evidence to discredit him, falsely accusing him of sacrificing humans during the Ocho festivals. This led to a swift judgment of dethronement, even before investigations concluded.
As a consequence, all Igala cultural festivals, including the Ocho, were banned for nearly 63 years until Governor Yahaya Bello lifted the ban upon the appeal of the current Attah Igala. The Oba of Benin had already been dethroned and banished, influencing Attah Ameh’s realization that his enemies would persist until his removal.
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Investigations later confirmed that the blood sample from the Ocho venue was from an animal, not a human. Sadly, Attah Ameh had passed away before this revelation. Before his death, he made pronouncements, predicting consequences for those who orchestrated his downfall. Allegedly, these predictions, including a dried-up hand and multiple burials, came to pass.
Upon learning of his dethronement, Attah Ameh Oboni stopped in another Igala land called Dekina, where he tragically took his own life. Before his death, he foresaw the town’s popularity without commensurate development and predicted disunity among the Igala people until the reign of his blood (son) as Attah, envisioning eventual reunification of all Igalas, regardless of their locations.