PRESS STATEMENT BY THE BONNY CHIEFS’ COUNCIL
PURPORTED INSTALLATION OF WARISENIAPU IN BENSTOWE CHIEFTAINCY HOUSE
It has come to the notice of the Bonny Chiefs’ Council that some members of the Benstowe Chieftaincy House, on Saturday, February 28, 2026, installed some persons as Wariseniapu of the House.
The Bonny Chiefs’ Council wishes to categorically state the following:
- The purported installation of Wariseniapu and the manner it was done is antithetical to the culture, customs and traditions of Bonny Kingdom.
- It is only an incumbent Chief who has the right or authority to install Wariseniapu in a Chieftaincy House.
- In the case of a Minor or Sub-House, the only person with such right is the incumbent Chief of the Major House, with the consent and permission of His Majesty the King. (In the case of Benstowe Chieftaincy House, it is Se-Alabo Sir Sotonye Banigo, the Chief and Head of Banigo Chieftaincy Major House.)
- Considering the above, the Bonny Chiefs’ Council hereby declares the purported installation as null, void and of no effect whatsoever. The recipients are hereby advised to stop forthwith from parading themselves as Wariseniapu of Benstowe Chieftaincy House of Grand Bonny Kingdom.
Signed:
His Excellency,
Se-Alabo Amb Dagogo Soala Claude-Wilcox FSS, MON, KSC, JP,
Chairman, Bonny Chiefs’ Council.
Festus S. Pepple, KSC
Palace Secretary