‘Ijebu-Ode Can’t Remain Kingless,’ Counsel Tells Court in Awujale Succession Suit

Chairman of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, Otunba Abdulateef Owoyemi, has said the family was compelled to seek judicial intervention over the stalled selection of the next Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland because it could no longer afford to wait indefinitely for the process to be concluded.

Owoyemi spoke with Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, after Wednesday’s proceedings in a suit filed by the Fusengbuwa Ruling House against the Ogun State Government, the Awujale kingmakers and other stakeholders over the suspension of the selection process.

The case, numbered HCJ/149/2026, was filed on August 21, 2026, at the Ogun State High Court sitting in Ijebu-Ode.

At Wednesday’s proceedings, the vacation judge, Justice A. A. Omoniyi, returned the case file to the administrative judge for reassignment, explaining that he would proceed on his annual vacation within the next week and might not return to duty until January 2027.

Justice Omoniyi acknowledged the urgency of the matter but said the limited time available to him made it difficult to commence and progress the case before his vacation.

The judge said the circumstances of the case, the interest of justice and the need for the matter to move forward informed his decision to return the file to the administrative judge, who may reassign it to another judge returning from vacation or determine whether Justice Omoniyi should continue with the matter upon his return.

The matter was adjourned to September 23, 2026, for further hearing.

Reacting to the development, Owoyemi said the ruling house had waited for seven months after completing its own part of the selection process within the period, which he said was prescribed by law.

According to him, the ruling house had 14 days to perform its statutory responsibility, but completed the process within 10 days before submitting the necessary documents to the kingmakers.

He said the kingmakers were then expected to complete the next stage within seven days.
“We waited for seven months. We had only 14 days by law to do what we have done. And we did it within 10 days, and immediately we delivered the papers to the kingmakers, they only had seven days to finish and appoint an Awujale,” Owoyemi said.

He alleged that the process was subsequently halted following a letter citing petitions and a security report, which, according to him, the ruling house had not been given access to.

“From nowhere, a letter came asking that the whole thing stop because of what they call petitions, which we never saw, we don’t know who wrote the petitions, the security report, which we have never seen a copy of till today’s date,” he said.

Owoyemi added that religious and community leaders had made efforts to secure a resolution to the matter.

“And we’ve been waiting for seven months! The Imam, the Muslims of Ijebuland, and the Christians of Ijebuland have tried all they could in the whole world to have access to the governor so that this matter can move forward, but nothing has happened. We can’t wait forever! And we have to approach the court for intervention,” he said.

Counsel: Selection process should not be deliberately stopped

Earlier, counsel to the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, Otunba Olusegun Otayemi, told the court that all 15 defendants had been duly served and that his clients were ready to proceed with the suit.

Speaking after the proceedings, Otayemi said the ruling house approached the court because the selection process had commenced before it was stopped.

He argued that while circumstances could cause delays, the process should not be deliberately halted.

“We’ve brought an action, essentially, because there was a stoppage of the selection process after it had been initiated. And the law, as we know it, does not permit of a deliberate stoppage,” Otayemi said.

He added that delays arising from legitimate circumstances could be accommodated, but maintained that the process should continue.

“Yes, if there are things that cause delays here and there, that can be excused, but not a deliberate, orchestrated stoppage; that’s why we are in court,” he said.

Otayemi also stressed the urgency of the matter, saying Ijebu-Ode had remained without an Awujale since the stool became vacant.

“This matter is something that has some urgency in it. Ijebu-Ode cannot remain kingless for so long. And that’s one of the reasons why we are in court,” he said.

Kingmakers seek opportunity to perform duties

However, Asiwaju Kunle Kalejaiye, SAN, counsel representing the seventh to 15th defendants, including members of the kingmakers’ council, said his clients’ position was that the Afobajes should be allowed to carry out their statutory responsibilities while the government performs its own duties.

Kalejaiye said the appointment of recognised chiefs was governed by the applicable Chiefs Law and involved specific statutory timelines.

“The Afobajes that I represent have been brought to court by the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, saying that they want the court to order the government to leave their big feet from the selection process which has been commenced,” he said.

According to him, the kingmakers’ position was essentially that they should be allowed to perform their role while the government carries out its own responsibilities.

He said the process was “time calibrated,” with statutory periods applying at different stages.

“Seven days, 14 days, 21 days. So, I think, well, from the point of view of the Afobajes, they want to do their job and leave the Ijebus and Awujale,” Kalejaiye said.

On the decision to return the case file to the administrative judge, Kalejaiye said the matter could either be reassigned to another judge or returned to Justice Omoniyi if the administrative judge directed him to continue with the case upon his return.

He said, “The court said that it’s a vacation judge and as such would not want to start the matter now. We’ll return the file to the admin judge, who will either assign it to herself or give it to another judge to do. But if the admin judge says he should continue, they will come back on the 23rd of September.”

Ruling house challenges government’s role

The Fusengbuwa Ruling House had joined the Ogun State Government, the Awujale kingmakers and other stakeholders as defendants in the suit, seeking orders compelling the completion of the selection process for the next Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland.

Among the defendants are Governor Dapo Abiodun; the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Oluwasina Ogungbade, SAN; the Ogun State Executive Council; the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ganiyu Hamzat; the Chairman of Ijebu-Ode Local Government, Dare Alebiosu; the Secretary of Ijebu-Ode Local Government and members of the Awujale Afobaje/Kingmakers Council.

The kingmakers listed include Olorogun Sonny Kuku, Chief Rasheed Adesanya, Chief Oluwaranti Lekan Osifeso, Chief Jimi Lawal, Chief Abimbola Okenla, Chief Kunle Ogunade, Chief Agboola Alausa, Chief Adebisi Adaran and Chief Ayotunde Ola Odulaja.

The claimants are asking the court to determine, among other issues, whether the government had the legal power to order or facilitate the alleged entry into and locking of the Awujale Palace on January 20, 2026, which they say was intended to prevent the kingmakers from convening and concluding their statutory selection process.

They are also asking the court to determine whether the Ogun State Obas and Chiefs Law permits the state government to halt the nomination or selection process for the Awujale.

The ruling house is further asking the court to determine whether, having convened its meeting and completed its internal nomination process within the period prescribed by law, it had discharged its statutory responsibility under Section 16 of the Obas and Chiefs Law of Ogun State 2021.

The Awujale stool became vacant in July 2025 following the death of Oba Sikiru Adetona at the age of 91, after more than six decades on the throne.

The Ogun State Government halted the selection process in January 2026, following an earlier suspension in December 2025 over reported procedural concerns.

The government cited petitions from security agencies and other stakeholders in connection with the later suspension.

A total of 95 aspirants, 94 princes and one princess, reportedly emerged from the ruling house nomination process held in Ijebu-Ode in December before the process was halted.

The Mirror