Saturday 27 May 1899
General Ologboseri has been captured today after considerable bush-fighting with British forces lasting two years.
Tuesday 27th June
The trial of General Ologboseri took place earlier today.
General Ologboseri was charged with:
The trial took place in the Consular Court House, Benin city. The court house was guarded inside and outside by the Haussa soldiers.
Sitting in court were there present:
[Below is the transcript from the trial of Oba Overami and his chiefs which took place on Wednesday 1st September 1897 and Friday 3rd September 1897.]
There were no advocates on either side, and every witness was cautioned to speak the truth. The Consul-General opened the proceedings by stating that the palaver was not about the late fighting, because it was quite right that the natives should fight for their country, but that it was about the massacre of the unarmed white men of Phillips' peaceful expedition. The palaver would be managed native
fashion, that is, according to native custom and law, and not according to white
man's law. The first thing to settle was to find out who instigated the massacre,
whether the king or the chiefs ?
The three witnesses on behalf of the British were:
Igbedio, ' a boy ' {i.e., dependant) of the chief Obahawaie,
Agamoye, a boy of the chief Obassieki, and
Wobari, another boy of Obahawaie.
[Evidence from these three witnesses should be taken with caution. They were dependants of powerful chiefs wanting to be made kings in place of the disposed king. They would have been wanting to please the British by saying what they knew Consul General Moor wanted to hear.]
They all acknowledged that they knew beforehand that all the white men were unarmed, and that they with many others were sent by the chiefs to kill the white men, Jekries, and Kru boys ; which they did, and cut off the white men's heads and sent them to Egoru. One member of the ill-fated expedition who was not killed outright, was taken to Benin and thence to Egoru, where the boys of the chief Ochudi killed him. Before the massacre a chief named Idahie passed them, with the white man's stick¹, on his way to the king.
They averred that the chiefs present at the massacre, viz.,
Ologbosheri [Ollubusheri], Obahawaie, Obaiuwana [Obaynagmo] , Usu, Ugiagbe [Ujiagbe] , and Obadesagbo [Obaradesagmo] were those by whose instruction the white men were killed.
[Untrue to state that all the Whiteman were unarmed as evidenced by (1) Boisragon 1897, page 78; “Another order was to the effect that officers might carry revolvers, but must not show them, for fear of frightening the natives.” (2) When Phillip's party effects were found intact in the king's house on February 20 1897, Roth (1903, appendix II page xii) recorded; “Of course we found no arms or ammunition, the natives having most probably used them against us.”]
Obahawaie was said to have been seen cutting off a white man's head, but of
the others only their boys were seen doing this. On the strength of this evidence, the four chiefs Obahawaie, Obaiuwana, Ugiagbe, and Usu were taken prisoners.
Obai uwana committed suicide with a knife he had concealed in his loin-cloth, on
his being put in the guard room hut, which was quite dark at the time. Captain Koe
was with him in the hut, searching the other two, when Obaiuwana cut his throat
from ear to ear, whereupon his body was taken to the front of the king's compound
and hung up for a day and then buried.
When the court reassembled the four prisoners gave their evidence.
Obahawaie
told the court that for the last six years, since Nana's town was taken, the King of
Benin expected white men would be coming to Benin city. For this reason a few
of the fighting men were kept on the Gwato road as a guard to prevent the town
being surprised. The king, Overami, did not know anything about the massacre in
question, because he did not come out of his house, and even if he wanted to go
anywhere, he merely would go near his fence and turn back. " If all the people of
this town were in his court as we are here now, he had nothing to do with them.
Whenever anything happened, the king would call the chiefs and tell them, and they did what they thought fit. We were in this town about five days before the massacre, having a big play², when we heard that white men were coming with war. The king then called the people, and told them ' the white man is bringing war—now if you go you must not fight with him—let them come, and if they like they can come and see me and say anything they have to say. Perhaps they are coming to play [to pay a friendly visit]; you do not know, you must allow them to come and if it is war, we will find out.' " But the big chiefs, amongst whom Ologbosheri and lyasheri [Yaceri] were specially mentioned, overruled the king's orders, and in spite of his (Obahawaie's) protests ordered him to massacre, saying other men would be sent to kill him if he did not destroy the white men. He went so far as to say that the king had even offered kola nuts to lyasheri, begging him not to fight the white men. He acknowledged the white men were quite unarmed, and that even the cutlasses of the carriers had been tied up and put away in the launch. The chiefs who he said were present at the massacre were Arabato, Osague, Usu, Obamoye [Obamoi] , and Obajuhomua, while the following chiefs sent boys : lyaja, Aiyeboha, Osagwe, Obaseki, Ine, Ihanre, Obajnaie, and Ahando. He said while he was talking to Isayeri's messengers he heard firing, and a white man ran past him, whom none of his people touched.
Usu likewise defended the king, saying : " The king called me and sent me to tell
the people not to kill the white men. If they brought war to catch the king, or they
came to play with him, the people must allow them to come. The king said since
he was born there had not been any white men killed in Benin city, so no white man must be killed." He said that Ologbosheri had countermanded the king's orders, saying lyasheri had threatened to kill him if the white men were not killed. He complained of one of his boys attacking the Expedition and so getting him into
trouble, as he did not get to the scene till the massacre was over ; but Igbedio contradicted this saying he was there before. Usu also stated that the wounded white man was being taken to the city by Omaregboma, when one of Ochudi's men killed him.
Ugiagbe told the court he was stationed at Egbini, in order that when a white
man came from the Jekries he could take him to the king and bring him back. He
said he had protested against the war, but being a small boy he was told to shut his
mouth, being overruled by Ologbosheri and Obadesagbo, and that Ojuma had also
been sent to fight. He was not sent by the king.
Omaregboma, who was stationed at Gwato to take white men to the king, said:
" Ohebo came and met me at Gwato, and told me that the chiefs sent him to say
that they had heard that plenty white men were coming, and I must send to tell the
king what they brought. Ohebo had not come from Benin city yet when the white
men came, and I allowed them a room where they put all their things, so I asked Ohebo to look at the things that the white men brought. They had neither guns nor
swords. The only cutlasses that the carriers had were tied up and put in the launch;
I made Ohebo look at them so that he could tell the chiefs what they wanted when he came to Benin city. It was evening, so the white men slept at Gwato and in the morning they started for Benin City. I undertook to lead them, so I was in front of them."
The white men slept at Egbini, Herbert Clarke³ having requested him to go ahead
to make preparations for them. He said he found the boys on the road waiting to
fight the white men, and on seeing this went in search of Ologbosheri, to whom he
went on his knees, imploring him not to kill the white men, but while he was doing
this the massacre took place. One white man ran to him for protection, and he left
him to find Herbert Clarke, who was still living, but he could not find the latter, and on his return was told Ochudi's boys had killed the other white man. He accused Usu of lying about this white man. He mentioned the anger and fear of the king when told of the massacre, and accused the following chiefs of implication in it : Usu, Obahawie, Ologbosheri, Obaiuwana, Obadesagbo ; he saw present boys of all the chiefs except those of Ojumo and Aro.
Idiaie's evidence was to the effect that he was sent by the white man, who gave
him a message with a stick to hand to the king. On meeting the chiefs Ologbosheri,
Obadesagdo, Osague, Obahawaie, and Obaiuwana on the road, he told them that the white men were coming, but unarmed. Usu, whom he also met, told him he had a message from the king, to tell the people not to kill the white men. He handed the
stick to the king with the message that the white men were not coming with war.
" So the king sent me back to tell the people not to kill the white men. When I
reached Ojumo's I met some Kru-boys and heard that the white men had been
killed. Every time that the white men sent us with sticks, the sticks were always
left in the house where the white men used to stay, called Owiabu; so I left the
white man's stick there."
The great chief Aro told the court that the Jekries sent word to Benin that the
white men were coming with war, at which news the king was much concerned, as
since the time of his grandfather, no white man had made war against Benin; neither the king nor Ojumo wished to fight. There was some doubt as to the white
man sending sometime beforehand saying he was coming. He was of opinion the
people did the massacre to bring trouble on the king.
King Overami's statement was largely to insist that he had always been a friend
to the white man, exchanging presents with him, allowing him to visit Benin, and
that his orders were that the white men were not to be killed.
The prisoners were allowed to cross-examine, but the evidence of the three chief
witnesses were not upset in any material point.
The court adjourned until September 3rd, when the Consul-General, having asked the chiefs what was the law in case of killing, and being told by chief Alea ' the native law is that if a chief kills a chief, a chief must be killed,' summed up by saying that seven white chiefs having been killed, seven native chiefs must be killed; but as the king and others had for some years been under the impression that the white man was coming with war, there was a natural doubt in their minds, when Phillips' party came, as to whether it meant war ; as to defend their country was a proper thing, he would give the king and chiefs the benefit of the doubt; but as regards the chiefs who were present at the massacre, after learning that the white man was not bringing war, there could be no doubt in their case, and the court found that Obaiuwana, Olgobosheri, Obadesagbo, Usu, Obahawaie, and Ugiagbe were all guilty of the murder of Phillips' party on the Gwato road on the 4th January, 1897.
Of these, Obaiuwana had already committed suicide, Obadesagbo had died of fear of punishment, and Ugiagbe, being a boy, was passed over. There remained then Ologbosheri still at large, who, in his absence, was condemned to be shot ; and Usu and Obahawaie who were condemned to be shot the next morning. Two chiefs being about to pay the penalty of their crimes, there remained five more to forfeit their lives to make up the seven native chiefs to be killed for the seven white chiefs killed, but the natives, including the king, would be forgiven if they produced Ologbosheri to be executed for the part he had taken in the massacre. The Consul-General added that the five chiefs to suffer the penalty of the law would be chosen by him. This was considered diplomatic on his part, as all the chiefs would try to catch Ologbosheri, for none knew which of them would be chosen, the doubt as to the final decision giving them a personal interest in the capture. The Consul-General then remarked : " This is no idle threat, and I solemnly promise to do what I say." The natives, owing to their knowledge of the country naturally had a better chance of catching Ologbosheri than Europeans.
The execution of the two chiefs took place without any trouble. The Consul-
General then waited to see whether there was any chance of capturing the real
instigator of the Phillips' massacre, Ologbosheri. In the meanwhile, the Consul-
General had explained to the king and the chiefs, who had now surrendered with their sovereign, what had already been told to the other chiefs, namely, the
arrangements which had been made for carrying on the government of the country
by the native chiefs themselves. Also that the king could no longer order the people about as before, but that proper villages would be apportioned to him, with servants, food, and all other necessaries as for a big chief, for lie would probably still be the biggest chief, that position depending upon his ability to govern.
At the same time, the Consul-General proposed to take the king and two or three
chiefs, with their wives and servants, on a tour for a year or so to Calabar, Lagos,
and the Yoruba country to see how other lands were governed. The king and chiefs
were to go home and discuss these matters, and especially what they proposed to do to catch Ologbosheri, and then come to the palaver house on the 9th September and reply to the proposals of the Consul-General. They were specially warned not to leave the city, in answer to which the chief Ochudi naively said : " Overami will not go to the bush ; he has been there before and what is the use of his going back
again." However, when the 9th came, as the king refused to appear, the Consul-
General sent Capt. Carter and Lieut. Gabbett with fifty men to take the king
prisoner, and bring him down. The king, hearing of this, fled to the bush, so that
when the detachment got to his house, no one was there. The Consul-General
summoned the chiefs and said that if they did not find the king by 4 p.m. he would
burn all the houses and shoot every chief; this threat had the desired effect, and
Ojumo stated that the king was in hiding at his compound about three-quarters of a
mile away. Captain Roupell and a few men of the force found the king in a bush
hut practically alone; as the men entered he darted out at the back door, and eventually ran into the arms of some of the search party. Had it been otherwise, all the force would have been obliged to take to the bush in the rains to search for him.
The king was marched back to the palaver house, where the Consul-General sentenced him to be banished from his country for life.
An officer was now ordered to take the king down to Gwato en route for Old
Calabar, on Monday, 13th September. The king's wives, some eighty in number,
were handed back to the families they belonged to. The king proposed taking down
two of his wives, and in the meanwhile he resided in the guard- room, closely watched, very downcast, and refusing all food provided for him. He had some days
previous to his attempted escape, offered the Consul-General 200 puncheons {£1500 worth) of oil to escape exile, and since then he offered in exchange for his liberty to disclose where his 500 ivory tusks were buried ; his coral, he said, had been stolen by his own "boys."
On September 15th the king was brought safely down to Gwato by Capts. Carter and Henniker, and placed on the Protectorate yacht at anchorage below Gilli-Gilli. Capt. Carter was left in charge of him. The king was agitated and violent when awakened at 4 a.m., but was put in a hammock and strapped in; he commenced to holloa, and consequently had to be gagged so as to get him out of the city before day-light without any row, which was effectually done. With this exception, which was a necessity, the king was treated throughout with every courtesy.
[Suddenly roused from his deep sleep at the sacred hour of 4 a.m., His Majesty disorientated, confused and finding himself bound and shackled with heavy fortified chains reserved for the most dangerous criminals, in his horror, hollered for help. Instead of alleviating his distress, he was gagged and strapped to a hammock. No help came even the animals of the jungle were still in deep sleep.]
The party consisted of sixty men protected by a Maxim so as to be able to overcome any opposition which might possibly attempt a rescue, though this was improbable.
His majesty took everything he saw on the yacht very philosophically, although
he had, like his predecessors, not been outside the city walls since he was made king, and was only accustomed to leave his compound once or twice in a year
to shew himself to his subjects. The only things or beings he craved for were his
two wives, who followed him with the Consul-General's party and joined him a few weeks afterwards.
The difficulty the British experienced in dealing with the king was due to the
fact that he was himself a big ju-ju, in which the natives had unbounded confidence. They believed he would never be captured, and that if the British did succeed in arriving at the city, he would turn into a bird or some animal and so escape. Nor was he considered bloodthirsty by his subjects. The whole system of massacres was part and parcel of their daily life, to which they were thoroughly accustomed, and if they blamed anyone it was the fetish priests, not their king. Besides, it was mostly the slaves who were sacrificed. It was, therefore, judged probable that a rescue might be attempted, which would only lead to further bloodshed and prevent the pacification of the country, already too long delayed by the king's six months' sojourn in the bush. The removal of the king was also desirable, to show the people the uselessness of their resistance to the white man's power.
Capture and trial of Army General Ologboseri
After considerable bush-fighting Ologbosheri was captured on the 27th May,
1899; he was brought to trial before a full court and condemned to death on the
27th June, for being the chief instigator of the murder of the members of Phillips'
expedition. He was hanged on the 28th June, 1897. His trial confirmed the verdict
of the court which sat on the king, namely that Ologbosheri, and not Overami, was
the prime instigator of the massacre.
[It was against this backdrop that General Ologboseri was trialled in the kangaroo court on Tuesday 27 June 1899. His fate was already sealed by the evidence that had gone before two years ago. Consul General Moor also lived up to his promise to kill and burn down houses, villages and towns if Ologboseri was not forfeited by the people and chiefs.]
General Ologboseri gave this evidence in his own defence:
The king told me that he had heard that the white men were coming to fight with him, and that I must get ready to go and fight the white men … when all the people called the mass meeting at Benin City and selected me to go and fight the white men, I went. I had no palaver with the white men before.
The day I was selected to go from Benin City to meet the white men all the chiefs here present were in the meeting, and now they want to put the whole thing on my shoulders.
[General Ologboseri’s evidence is corroborated by the evidence given by all foregoing others including (1) the witnesses who said they had a big meeting; (2) Consul General Moor who stated: " This is no idle threat, and I solemnly promise to do what I say." The Consul-General summoned the chiefs and said that if they did not find the king by 4 p.m. he would burn all the houses and shoot every chief; this threat had the desired effect… Resident Granville and Capt. Roupell indulged themselves in burning down villages and towns in the two years General Ologboseri was at large. Read more here --->]
Wednesday 28th June 1899
Genera Ologboseri is executed by hanging.
{The following year 1900, after the capture and execution of General Ologboseri, Consul General Moor's health began to fail. He was also made High Commissioner of the newly formed Southern Nigeria. Two years later, in 1903, he was forced to retire on pension on October 1 due to ill health. Six years later, aged just 49 years, he committed suicide at his residence ,The Homestead Barnes, London on September 14 1909. He had deliberately taken poison due to temporary insanity. The coroner jury heard evidence that for the past four years, since returning from Africa, he had suffered from Malarial and Black Water Fever which induced insomnia.}
Foot notes
¹ This is the stick mentioned by Boisragon as having been borrowed from him by Phillips, in order that the messenger might have a token of the peaceful disposition of the Expedition to show the king. It has always been the custom to send a stick as a proof that the messenger is bond fide. Nana, Dudu, Ocorowala, Chinomi, Dore and all the Jekri chiefs have been in the habit of having costly sticks with embossed silver heads presented to them, and these were the sticks sent with the messengers.
² The big play was the ceremony of celebrating his father's death, and this was the reason the king gave to Phillips when he requested Phillips not to approach.
³ A half caste (mixed race) about 25 years of age ; educated in England ; Government interpreter.
References:
1) A CATALOGUE OF THE CORRESPONDENCE AND PAPERS OF THE
NIGER COAST PROTECTORATE CSO 3/1/1 -3/5/1 1894-1899
NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF NIGERIA ENUGU
By U.O.A. ESSE 1988
2) Bacon R. Benin City of Blood, 1897, p.111 (the King's House is the Palace of the White Chief)
3) Ibid p. 112 (they will be dictated to as to terms of surrender and their future behaviour.)
4) Ibid p.112 (as long as the Juju priests remain at large they will form centres of discontent,)
5) Ibid p.112 (the same system of native council as is in vogue with the Jakris will be instituted,)
6) Ibid p 112 (more likely to inspire confidence in the natives than the present Consul-General, Mr. R. Moor;)
Ibid. Great Britain, Gallwey to Foreign Office., 21 January l897.
7) Great Britain, Vol LX, Moor to Salisbury, 24 Feb., 1897
8) Ibid., Moor to Salisbury, 12 March, 1897.
9) Ibid., Moor to Salisbury, 18 March, 1897.
10) Guardian Newspaper, The Benin Massacre, Trial of the king. Two Chiefs shot, September 16, 1897
11) Moore, R. Benin Expedition, 1897 – February 22 1897 – Commons Sitting – HC Deb 22 February 1897 vol 46 c964; The First Lord of Admiralty on the Motion “That this House do now adjourn,”
12) Roth, H. L. 1903 appendix 11 cited Roth N. F. A DIARY OF A SURGEON WITH THE BENIN PUNITIVE EXPEDITION'
13) Roth, H. L, Great Benin, 1903, app 111, p. xii
14) Ibid p. xiii
15) Ibid p. xiv
16) Ralph Moor, accessed: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Moor
17) Roth H.L.,Transcript of the Trial of the king, (appendix 11); 1903 [₂]
18) Roth H. L Transcript of the Trial of Ologbosheri; 27 June 1899, (appendix xviii); 1903
19) WEST AFRICA—BENIN, ASHANTI, NUPE. THAMES STAR, VOLUME XXIX, ISSUE 8735, 11 AUGUST 1897
Accessed: https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/THS18970811.2.9
General Ologboseri has been captured today after considerable bush-fighting with British forces lasting two years.
Tuesday 27th June
The trial of General Ologboseri took place earlier today.
General Ologboseri was charged with:
- Massacre of the whitemen: Acting Consul General Phillips and six other whitemen.
- Unlawful resistance to British rule (implied).
- Engaging in a two year bush warfare against British Forces (implied).
The trial took place in the Consular Court House, Benin city. The court house was guarded inside and outside by the Haussa soldiers.
Sitting in court were there present:
- Sir R. D. R. Moor, K.C.M.G., Commissioner and Consul-General;
- Captain E. P. S. Roupell, Acting Political Resident;
- Captain C. H. P. Carter, Officer Commanding Troops Benin City;
- Nine members of the newly established Native Council,
- Some 60 Chiefs of Benin City.
- Oba Overami
[Below is the transcript from the trial of Oba Overami and his chiefs which took place on Wednesday 1st September 1897 and Friday 3rd September 1897.]
There were no advocates on either side, and every witness was cautioned to speak the truth. The Consul-General opened the proceedings by stating that the palaver was not about the late fighting, because it was quite right that the natives should fight for their country, but that it was about the massacre of the unarmed white men of Phillips' peaceful expedition. The palaver would be managed native
fashion, that is, according to native custom and law, and not according to white
man's law. The first thing to settle was to find out who instigated the massacre,
whether the king or the chiefs ?
The three witnesses on behalf of the British were:
Igbedio, ' a boy ' {i.e., dependant) of the chief Obahawaie,
Agamoye, a boy of the chief Obassieki, and
Wobari, another boy of Obahawaie.
[Evidence from these three witnesses should be taken with caution. They were dependants of powerful chiefs wanting to be made kings in place of the disposed king. They would have been wanting to please the British by saying what they knew Consul General Moor wanted to hear.]
They all acknowledged that they knew beforehand that all the white men were unarmed, and that they with many others were sent by the chiefs to kill the white men, Jekries, and Kru boys ; which they did, and cut off the white men's heads and sent them to Egoru. One member of the ill-fated expedition who was not killed outright, was taken to Benin and thence to Egoru, where the boys of the chief Ochudi killed him. Before the massacre a chief named Idahie passed them, with the white man's stick¹, on his way to the king.
They averred that the chiefs present at the massacre, viz.,
Ologbosheri [Ollubusheri], Obahawaie, Obaiuwana [Obaynagmo] , Usu, Ugiagbe [Ujiagbe] , and Obadesagbo [Obaradesagmo] were those by whose instruction the white men were killed.
[Untrue to state that all the Whiteman were unarmed as evidenced by (1) Boisragon 1897, page 78; “Another order was to the effect that officers might carry revolvers, but must not show them, for fear of frightening the natives.” (2) When Phillip's party effects were found intact in the king's house on February 20 1897, Roth (1903, appendix II page xii) recorded; “Of course we found no arms or ammunition, the natives having most probably used them against us.”]
Obahawaie was said to have been seen cutting off a white man's head, but of
the others only their boys were seen doing this. On the strength of this evidence, the four chiefs Obahawaie, Obaiuwana, Ugiagbe, and Usu were taken prisoners.
Obai uwana committed suicide with a knife he had concealed in his loin-cloth, on
his being put in the guard room hut, which was quite dark at the time. Captain Koe
was with him in the hut, searching the other two, when Obaiuwana cut his throat
from ear to ear, whereupon his body was taken to the front of the king's compound
and hung up for a day and then buried.
When the court reassembled the four prisoners gave their evidence.
Obahawaie
told the court that for the last six years, since Nana's town was taken, the King of
Benin expected white men would be coming to Benin city. For this reason a few
of the fighting men were kept on the Gwato road as a guard to prevent the town
being surprised. The king, Overami, did not know anything about the massacre in
question, because he did not come out of his house, and even if he wanted to go
anywhere, he merely would go near his fence and turn back. " If all the people of
this town were in his court as we are here now, he had nothing to do with them.
Whenever anything happened, the king would call the chiefs and tell them, and they did what they thought fit. We were in this town about five days before the massacre, having a big play², when we heard that white men were coming with war. The king then called the people, and told them ' the white man is bringing war—now if you go you must not fight with him—let them come, and if they like they can come and see me and say anything they have to say. Perhaps they are coming to play [to pay a friendly visit]; you do not know, you must allow them to come and if it is war, we will find out.' " But the big chiefs, amongst whom Ologbosheri and lyasheri [Yaceri] were specially mentioned, overruled the king's orders, and in spite of his (Obahawaie's) protests ordered him to massacre, saying other men would be sent to kill him if he did not destroy the white men. He went so far as to say that the king had even offered kola nuts to lyasheri, begging him not to fight the white men. He acknowledged the white men were quite unarmed, and that even the cutlasses of the carriers had been tied up and put away in the launch. The chiefs who he said were present at the massacre were Arabato, Osague, Usu, Obamoye [Obamoi] , and Obajuhomua, while the following chiefs sent boys : lyaja, Aiyeboha, Osagwe, Obaseki, Ine, Ihanre, Obajnaie, and Ahando. He said while he was talking to Isayeri's messengers he heard firing, and a white man ran past him, whom none of his people touched.
Usu likewise defended the king, saying : " The king called me and sent me to tell
the people not to kill the white men. If they brought war to catch the king, or they
came to play with him, the people must allow them to come. The king said since
he was born there had not been any white men killed in Benin city, so no white man must be killed." He said that Ologbosheri had countermanded the king's orders, saying lyasheri had threatened to kill him if the white men were not killed. He complained of one of his boys attacking the Expedition and so getting him into
trouble, as he did not get to the scene till the massacre was over ; but Igbedio contradicted this saying he was there before. Usu also stated that the wounded white man was being taken to the city by Omaregboma, when one of Ochudi's men killed him.
Ugiagbe told the court he was stationed at Egbini, in order that when a white
man came from the Jekries he could take him to the king and bring him back. He
said he had protested against the war, but being a small boy he was told to shut his
mouth, being overruled by Ologbosheri and Obadesagbo, and that Ojuma had also
been sent to fight. He was not sent by the king.
Omaregboma, who was stationed at Gwato to take white men to the king, said:
" Ohebo came and met me at Gwato, and told me that the chiefs sent him to say
that they had heard that plenty white men were coming, and I must send to tell the
king what they brought. Ohebo had not come from Benin city yet when the white
men came, and I allowed them a room where they put all their things, so I asked Ohebo to look at the things that the white men brought. They had neither guns nor
swords. The only cutlasses that the carriers had were tied up and put in the launch;
I made Ohebo look at them so that he could tell the chiefs what they wanted when he came to Benin city. It was evening, so the white men slept at Gwato and in the morning they started for Benin City. I undertook to lead them, so I was in front of them."
The white men slept at Egbini, Herbert Clarke³ having requested him to go ahead
to make preparations for them. He said he found the boys on the road waiting to
fight the white men, and on seeing this went in search of Ologbosheri, to whom he
went on his knees, imploring him not to kill the white men, but while he was doing
this the massacre took place. One white man ran to him for protection, and he left
him to find Herbert Clarke, who was still living, but he could not find the latter, and on his return was told Ochudi's boys had killed the other white man. He accused Usu of lying about this white man. He mentioned the anger and fear of the king when told of the massacre, and accused the following chiefs of implication in it : Usu, Obahawie, Ologbosheri, Obaiuwana, Obadesagbo ; he saw present boys of all the chiefs except those of Ojumo and Aro.
Idiaie's evidence was to the effect that he was sent by the white man, who gave
him a message with a stick to hand to the king. On meeting the chiefs Ologbosheri,
Obadesagdo, Osague, Obahawaie, and Obaiuwana on the road, he told them that the white men were coming, but unarmed. Usu, whom he also met, told him he had a message from the king, to tell the people not to kill the white men. He handed the
stick to the king with the message that the white men were not coming with war.
" So the king sent me back to tell the people not to kill the white men. When I
reached Ojumo's I met some Kru-boys and heard that the white men had been
killed. Every time that the white men sent us with sticks, the sticks were always
left in the house where the white men used to stay, called Owiabu; so I left the
white man's stick there."
The great chief Aro told the court that the Jekries sent word to Benin that the
white men were coming with war, at which news the king was much concerned, as
since the time of his grandfather, no white man had made war against Benin; neither the king nor Ojumo wished to fight. There was some doubt as to the white
man sending sometime beforehand saying he was coming. He was of opinion the
people did the massacre to bring trouble on the king.
King Overami's statement was largely to insist that he had always been a friend
to the white man, exchanging presents with him, allowing him to visit Benin, and
that his orders were that the white men were not to be killed.
The prisoners were allowed to cross-examine, but the evidence of the three chief
witnesses were not upset in any material point.
The court adjourned until September 3rd, when the Consul-General, having asked the chiefs what was the law in case of killing, and being told by chief Alea ' the native law is that if a chief kills a chief, a chief must be killed,' summed up by saying that seven white chiefs having been killed, seven native chiefs must be killed; but as the king and others had for some years been under the impression that the white man was coming with war, there was a natural doubt in their minds, when Phillips' party came, as to whether it meant war ; as to defend their country was a proper thing, he would give the king and chiefs the benefit of the doubt; but as regards the chiefs who were present at the massacre, after learning that the white man was not bringing war, there could be no doubt in their case, and the court found that Obaiuwana, Olgobosheri, Obadesagbo, Usu, Obahawaie, and Ugiagbe were all guilty of the murder of Phillips' party on the Gwato road on the 4th January, 1897.
Of these, Obaiuwana had already committed suicide, Obadesagbo had died of fear of punishment, and Ugiagbe, being a boy, was passed over. There remained then Ologbosheri still at large, who, in his absence, was condemned to be shot ; and Usu and Obahawaie who were condemned to be shot the next morning. Two chiefs being about to pay the penalty of their crimes, there remained five more to forfeit their lives to make up the seven native chiefs to be killed for the seven white chiefs killed, but the natives, including the king, would be forgiven if they produced Ologbosheri to be executed for the part he had taken in the massacre. The Consul-General added that the five chiefs to suffer the penalty of the law would be chosen by him. This was considered diplomatic on his part, as all the chiefs would try to catch Ologbosheri, for none knew which of them would be chosen, the doubt as to the final decision giving them a personal interest in the capture. The Consul-General then remarked : " This is no idle threat, and I solemnly promise to do what I say." The natives, owing to their knowledge of the country naturally had a better chance of catching Ologbosheri than Europeans.
The execution of the two chiefs took place without any trouble. The Consul-
General then waited to see whether there was any chance of capturing the real
instigator of the Phillips' massacre, Ologbosheri. In the meanwhile, the Consul-
General had explained to the king and the chiefs, who had now surrendered with their sovereign, what had already been told to the other chiefs, namely, the
arrangements which had been made for carrying on the government of the country
by the native chiefs themselves. Also that the king could no longer order the people about as before, but that proper villages would be apportioned to him, with servants, food, and all other necessaries as for a big chief, for lie would probably still be the biggest chief, that position depending upon his ability to govern.
At the same time, the Consul-General proposed to take the king and two or three
chiefs, with their wives and servants, on a tour for a year or so to Calabar, Lagos,
and the Yoruba country to see how other lands were governed. The king and chiefs
were to go home and discuss these matters, and especially what they proposed to do to catch Ologbosheri, and then come to the palaver house on the 9th September and reply to the proposals of the Consul-General. They were specially warned not to leave the city, in answer to which the chief Ochudi naively said : " Overami will not go to the bush ; he has been there before and what is the use of his going back
again." However, when the 9th came, as the king refused to appear, the Consul-
General sent Capt. Carter and Lieut. Gabbett with fifty men to take the king
prisoner, and bring him down. The king, hearing of this, fled to the bush, so that
when the detachment got to his house, no one was there. The Consul-General
summoned the chiefs and said that if they did not find the king by 4 p.m. he would
burn all the houses and shoot every chief; this threat had the desired effect, and
Ojumo stated that the king was in hiding at his compound about three-quarters of a
mile away. Captain Roupell and a few men of the force found the king in a bush
hut practically alone; as the men entered he darted out at the back door, and eventually ran into the arms of some of the search party. Had it been otherwise, all the force would have been obliged to take to the bush in the rains to search for him.
The king was marched back to the palaver house, where the Consul-General sentenced him to be banished from his country for life.
An officer was now ordered to take the king down to Gwato en route for Old
Calabar, on Monday, 13th September. The king's wives, some eighty in number,
were handed back to the families they belonged to. The king proposed taking down
two of his wives, and in the meanwhile he resided in the guard- room, closely watched, very downcast, and refusing all food provided for him. He had some days
previous to his attempted escape, offered the Consul-General 200 puncheons {£1500 worth) of oil to escape exile, and since then he offered in exchange for his liberty to disclose where his 500 ivory tusks were buried ; his coral, he said, had been stolen by his own "boys."
On September 15th the king was brought safely down to Gwato by Capts. Carter and Henniker, and placed on the Protectorate yacht at anchorage below Gilli-Gilli. Capt. Carter was left in charge of him. The king was agitated and violent when awakened at 4 a.m., but was put in a hammock and strapped in; he commenced to holloa, and consequently had to be gagged so as to get him out of the city before day-light without any row, which was effectually done. With this exception, which was a necessity, the king was treated throughout with every courtesy.
[Suddenly roused from his deep sleep at the sacred hour of 4 a.m., His Majesty disorientated, confused and finding himself bound and shackled with heavy fortified chains reserved for the most dangerous criminals, in his horror, hollered for help. Instead of alleviating his distress, he was gagged and strapped to a hammock. No help came even the animals of the jungle were still in deep sleep.]
The party consisted of sixty men protected by a Maxim so as to be able to overcome any opposition which might possibly attempt a rescue, though this was improbable.
His majesty took everything he saw on the yacht very philosophically, although
he had, like his predecessors, not been outside the city walls since he was made king, and was only accustomed to leave his compound once or twice in a year
to shew himself to his subjects. The only things or beings he craved for were his
two wives, who followed him with the Consul-General's party and joined him a few weeks afterwards.
The difficulty the British experienced in dealing with the king was due to the
fact that he was himself a big ju-ju, in which the natives had unbounded confidence. They believed he would never be captured, and that if the British did succeed in arriving at the city, he would turn into a bird or some animal and so escape. Nor was he considered bloodthirsty by his subjects. The whole system of massacres was part and parcel of their daily life, to which they were thoroughly accustomed, and if they blamed anyone it was the fetish priests, not their king. Besides, it was mostly the slaves who were sacrificed. It was, therefore, judged probable that a rescue might be attempted, which would only lead to further bloodshed and prevent the pacification of the country, already too long delayed by the king's six months' sojourn in the bush. The removal of the king was also desirable, to show the people the uselessness of their resistance to the white man's power.
Capture and trial of Army General Ologboseri
After considerable bush-fighting Ologbosheri was captured on the 27th May,
1899; he was brought to trial before a full court and condemned to death on the
27th June, for being the chief instigator of the murder of the members of Phillips'
expedition. He was hanged on the 28th June, 1897. His trial confirmed the verdict
of the court which sat on the king, namely that Ologbosheri, and not Overami, was
the prime instigator of the massacre.
[It was against this backdrop that General Ologboseri was trialled in the kangaroo court on Tuesday 27 June 1899. His fate was already sealed by the evidence that had gone before two years ago. Consul General Moor also lived up to his promise to kill and burn down houses, villages and towns if Ologboseri was not forfeited by the people and chiefs.]
General Ologboseri gave this evidence in his own defence:
The king told me that he had heard that the white men were coming to fight with him, and that I must get ready to go and fight the white men … when all the people called the mass meeting at Benin City and selected me to go and fight the white men, I went. I had no palaver with the white men before.
The day I was selected to go from Benin City to meet the white men all the chiefs here present were in the meeting, and now they want to put the whole thing on my shoulders.
[General Ologboseri’s evidence is corroborated by the evidence given by all foregoing others including (1) the witnesses who said they had a big meeting; (2) Consul General Moor who stated: " This is no idle threat, and I solemnly promise to do what I say." The Consul-General summoned the chiefs and said that if they did not find the king by 4 p.m. he would burn all the houses and shoot every chief; this threat had the desired effect… Resident Granville and Capt. Roupell indulged themselves in burning down villages and towns in the two years General Ologboseri was at large. Read more here --->]
Wednesday 28th June 1899
Genera Ologboseri is executed by hanging.
{The following year 1900, after the capture and execution of General Ologboseri, Consul General Moor's health began to fail. He was also made High Commissioner of the newly formed Southern Nigeria. Two years later, in 1903, he was forced to retire on pension on October 1 due to ill health. Six years later, aged just 49 years, he committed suicide at his residence ,The Homestead Barnes, London on September 14 1909. He had deliberately taken poison due to temporary insanity. The coroner jury heard evidence that for the past four years, since returning from Africa, he had suffered from Malarial and Black Water Fever which induced insomnia.}
Foot notes
¹ This is the stick mentioned by Boisragon as having been borrowed from him by Phillips, in order that the messenger might have a token of the peaceful disposition of the Expedition to show the king. It has always been the custom to send a stick as a proof that the messenger is bond fide. Nana, Dudu, Ocorowala, Chinomi, Dore and all the Jekri chiefs have been in the habit of having costly sticks with embossed silver heads presented to them, and these were the sticks sent with the messengers.
² The big play was the ceremony of celebrating his father's death, and this was the reason the king gave to Phillips when he requested Phillips not to approach.
³ A half caste (mixed race) about 25 years of age ; educated in England ; Government interpreter.
References:
1) A CATALOGUE OF THE CORRESPONDENCE AND PAPERS OF THE
NIGER COAST PROTECTORATE CSO 3/1/1 -3/5/1 1894-1899
NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF NIGERIA ENUGU
By U.O.A. ESSE 1988
2) Bacon R. Benin City of Blood, 1897, p.111 (the King's House is the Palace of the White Chief)
3) Ibid p. 112 (they will be dictated to as to terms of surrender and their future behaviour.)
4) Ibid p.112 (as long as the Juju priests remain at large they will form centres of discontent,)
5) Ibid p.112 (the same system of native council as is in vogue with the Jakris will be instituted,)
6) Ibid p 112 (more likely to inspire confidence in the natives than the present Consul-General, Mr. R. Moor;)
Ibid. Great Britain, Gallwey to Foreign Office., 21 January l897.
7) Great Britain, Vol LX, Moor to Salisbury, 24 Feb., 1897
8) Ibid., Moor to Salisbury, 12 March, 1897.
9) Ibid., Moor to Salisbury, 18 March, 1897.
10) Guardian Newspaper, The Benin Massacre, Trial of the king. Two Chiefs shot, September 16, 1897
11) Moore, R. Benin Expedition, 1897 – February 22 1897 – Commons Sitting – HC Deb 22 February 1897 vol 46 c964; The First Lord of Admiralty on the Motion “That this House do now adjourn,”
12) Roth, H. L. 1903 appendix 11 cited Roth N. F. A DIARY OF A SURGEON WITH THE BENIN PUNITIVE EXPEDITION'
13) Roth, H. L, Great Benin, 1903, app 111, p. xii
14) Ibid p. xiii
15) Ibid p. xiv
16) Ralph Moor, accessed: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Moor
17) Roth H.L.,Transcript of the Trial of the king, (appendix 11); 1903 [₂]
18) Roth H. L Transcript of the Trial of Ologbosheri; 27 June 1899, (appendix xviii); 1903
19) WEST AFRICA—BENIN, ASHANTI, NUPE. THAMES STAR, VOLUME XXIX, ISSUE 8735, 11 AUGUST 1897
Accessed: https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/THS18970811.2.9
General Ologboseri with armed guards in 1899.