Owodo

Owodo (r. 1125–1130, d. c. 1133) was the thirty-first Ogiso ('King') of the pre-imperial Benin kingdom of Igodomigodo and the last ruler of the Ohuede dynasty, succeeding his father, Arigho. His rule began during recovery from a prolonged famine but was dominated by palace factionalism, disruptive attacks from Osogan—legendary creatures in oral tradition said to menace the Okedo–Ekiogiso trade route—and a high-profile domestic scandal that led to the exile (and, in some accounts, the attempted execution) of his son Ikaladerhan. Conflict with the Edionnisen ('Great Nobles') and public outrage after Owodo struck and killed a noble's pregnant widow, an act considered Kirikuvua under the kingdom's law and punishable by deposition, prompted an emergency council meeting to declare him unfit to rule. He was deposed and exiled to Ihinmwirin, where he died in obscurity three years later. His removal ended the Ohuede dynasty and the Ogiso era. It paved the way for the arrival of Prince Oranmiyan from Ile-Ife and the establishment of the Oba monarchy by Oranmiyan's son, Eweka I.

Much of the information on Owodo derives from the self-published books of Osarẹn Ọmọregie, whose work, based on claimed oral traditions, has been criticised for lacking verifiable sources and historical methodology, but is influential among Edo historians.