The new Chief moves in procession further long ERIHE Street crosses lgbesanmwan Street to Upper Erhie and approaches the Shrine of EZOMO AGBAN

The EZOMO AGBAN Shrine is in reality a double shrine, commemorating two personages. The less well-known personage is called OGHOGIOTOR. He was a contemporary of AGBAN the EZOMO of Benin and was himself also a warrior. He served in the Oba Palace as a member of the IBIWE Royal Society with responsibilities for the care of the Royal HAREM.

AGBAN was an EZOMO of Benin whose period of service spanned the two reigns of Oba ORHOGBUA and Oba EHENGBUDA four hundred years ago.
AGBAN’s story is well-known. He is one of the more easily remembered warriors of Benin land. Those exploits of his which caught the imagination of the public took place in the territories of the IKAS and the western Ibos. These territories had earlier been brought under the suzerainty of Benin by EWUARE the first expansionist Oba of the Kingdom. One of the warriors who helped Ewuare to maintain and expand the conquest across the Niger to the East was a man who by the sound of his name was obviously of Ibo antecedents His name was EZUKU and his praise-name his OGOGOBIAGA . He was sad to be merciless and non-discriminatory in the way he ladled out miseries to his opponents.

Ewuare settled EZUKU in OGAN the village across the Orhionmwon River from ABUDU town and facing IKA territories EZUKU died there and was deified.
Two hundred years later during the reign of Oba EHENGBUDA Benin again embarked on military activities in the Western Ibo territories. The leader of the Benin armies this time was Chief AGBAN, the EZOMO. The campaign was difficult but successful. J. U. Egharevba states that with Agban’s overrunning of the Ibo town of OGIDI the name of the town was changed to AGBOR” a corruption of the name “AGBAN.

Benin was so impressed with Ezomo Agban’s performance in this campaign that subsequent pacification efforts in that portion of Benin’s hegemony were regarded as the exclusive preserve of the Ezomos of Benin, even after that title became hereditary:
Ezomo ero ren vbene agbe Agbor he.
“The Ezomo is the personage with the know-how of beating Agbor in battle”.

The only time another War Captain other than the Ezomo was sent to those paris was during the OBORO (UBULU-UKU) War of two and a half centuries ago The expedition was a joint command between Chief IMARAN of Benin and Enogie EMOKPAOGBE, the ruler of Ugo N’ Iyekorhionmwon town. The Ezomo was kept out of the conflict because the reason for the war was the murder of his daughter ADESUWA, a crime of passion triggered by unrequited love committed by the Ubulu Uku ruler.