Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi. Photo Source: Punch Newspaper.
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Claim: A Facebook user claims that the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, was presented with the Key to the City of Brampton in Canada by the Mayor of Brampton, Patrick Brown.
Verdict: False! The four claims contained in this Facebook post are all false. The Ooni was honoured with a proclamation document, not the key to the city of Brampton; the key is symbolic and does not give anyone access to Brampton or Canada.
Full Text
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, is the spiritual leader and traditional ruler of Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The Ooni’s efforts towards peace-building, cultural diplomacy, and national development have been commended over time.
Oba Adeyeye was also named among dignitaries honoured with the award of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) by the Nigerian government.
However, recent viral posts across social media platforms hailed the Ooni of Ife for a supposedly record-breaking achievement in Canada.
On Jan. 11, 2026, a Facebook user, Peters Olaniyi Olusegun, claimed (archived here) that Ooni of Ife became the first king in the world to be presented with a Key to the City of Brampton in Canada by the Mayor of Brampton, Patrick Brown.
The post further claimed that the Key to the City gives Ooni access to Brampton and Canada. It added that the honour is the Canadian government’s highest State honour.
The post reads in part, “Congratulations OONIRISHA. Today in history: Kabiesi OONIRISA became the first King in the world to be presented with a KEY to the City BRAMPTON in CANADA by the Mayor of Brampton, PATRICK BROWN. This KEY gives him access to the City of Brampton and, by extension, Canada.”
We found similar claims here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
DUBAWA decided to fact-check the claim due to its virality, the personality involved and the potential to spread misinformation about international diplomatic protocols.
Verification
Claim 1: Was Ooni presented the Key to the City of Brampton?
Verdict: False!
DUBAWA conducted a keyword search on Google. The results show that no credible sources, including the Brampton website, reported that the Mayor of Brampton, Patrick Brown, presented the Key to the City of Brampton to the Ooni. The claims surfaced from multiple recent social media posts.
We found a Facebook post from 2019 by the Ooni of Ife Leadership Colloquium announcing that the Ooni was honoured by the City of Brampton, Canada.
Another Facebook post by this page containing a statement signed by the Director of Media and Public Affairs of the Ooni’s Palace, Moses Olafare, confirmed that the Ooni was honoured by the City of Brampton during his visit. We also examined footage of the event, and there was no explicit statement suggesting the Ooni was given the Key to the City of Brampton.
We checked Brampton’s protocol office website. The Ooni’s name was not listed in the historical archive of recipients of the Key to the City under Mayor Patrick Brown’s jurisdiction.
Analysis of the image indicated that Brampton’s Mayor presented a framed proclamation document to Ooni, not the Key to the City. The Key to the City of Brampton is usually presented as a physical plaque with a key.
Brampton also presented a similar proclamation document here.
Claim 2: The key gives the Ooni access to Brampton and Canada
Verdict: False!
According to the City of Brampton’s protocol office, the Key to the City is a symbolic honour bestowed, “upon a highly valued member of the community or a celebrated or dignified guest of the City of Brampton who has made an impact on the lives of the residents of the city.”
Meanwhile, the key is not one of Canada’s official immigration documents, like a visa or permanent residency. The Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act does not recognise city keys as valid travel documents.
Claim 3: Ooni became the first king in the world to be presented with the key
Verdict: False!
According to the Brampton protocol office’s historical archive, the Ooni’s name was not listed among dignitaries who received the key to the city under Mayor Patrick Brown’s jurisdiction.
Even if the Ooni were presented with the key, he would not be the first, as the Olu of Warri has already received it. The claim that Ooni became the first king in the world to be presented with the key to the city of Brampton is therefore false.
Claim 4: The key to the City of Brampton is Canada’s highest state honour
Verdict: False!
We checked the Official Canadian Honours list and found that the key to the City of Brampton was not listed as a national honour bestowed by the Canadian government.
The Key to the City is Brampton’s most prestigious award, bestowed at the Mayor’s discretion. Toronto also bestows such a city-based symbolic honour.
Canada’s highest civilian honour is the Order of Canada, bestowed by the Governor General.
Conclusion
The claims that the Ooni of Ife became the first king in the world to receive the Key to the City of Brampton and that the key grants him access to the country are false. Investigations revealed that the Ooni was honoured with a proclamation document by the mayor of Brampton, and the Key to the City is not the highest State honour given by the Canadian government.
