Awujale stool: Court returns ruling house suit for reassignment

The Ogun State High Court sitting in Ijebu-Ode has returned a suit challenging the suspension of the process for selecting the next Awujale of Ijebuland to the court’s administrative judge for reassignment.

The case, filed by the Fusengbuwa Ruling House against Governor Dapo Abiodun, the state government and the Awujale kingmakers, came before a vacation judge, Justice A.A. Omoniyi, on Wednesday.

Omoniyi, who presided over Court 3, said he would commence his annual vacation within a week and might not resume until January 2027, making it impracticable for him to continue with the matter despite its urgency.

He subsequently ordered that the case file, numbered HCJ/149/2026, be returned to the administrative judge for reallocation and adjourned proceedings until September 23.

The suit was filed on August 21 by the ruling house, which is seeking judicial intervention to compel the resumption and completion of the process for choosing a successor to the late Awujale, Oba Sikiru Adetona.

At Wednesday’s proceedings, counsel to the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, Olusegun Otayemi, informed the court that all 15 defendants had been served and that his clients were prepared to proceed.

Kunle Kalejaiye (SAN), who appeared for the seventh to 15th defendants comprising the kingmakers, said they remained within the period allowed by law to respond to the claims.

A state counsel, W.A. Onawole, also appeared for Governor Abiodun, the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, and other state defendants.

The kingmakers were present in court, led by Dr Sunny Kuku, co-founder of EKO Hospital and Ogbeni Oja of Ijebuland.

Speaking after the proceedings, Otayemi said the ruling house approached the court because the selection exercise, which had already commenced, was allegedly stopped by government intervention.

He argued that while legitimate delays could occur in the process, there should not be a deliberate suspension of a statutory exercise.

Otayemi also stressed the urgency of filling the vacant traditional stool, saying Ijebu-Ode should not remain without an Awujale for an extended period.

Chairman of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, Abdulateef Owoyemi, said the family had waited for months for the selection process to progress before deciding to seek legal redress.

According to him, the ruling house completed its nomination process within the period prescribed by law and subsequently handed the relevant documents to the kingmakers, who were expected to conclude their part of the exercise.

Owoyemi alleged that the process was later stopped following a government letter citing petitions and security reports which, he said, had not been made available to the ruling house.

He said efforts by religious leaders and other stakeholders in Ijebuland to engage the governor and resolve the matter had not yielded the desired result.

The ruling house is asking the court to determine whether the state government had the legal authority to order or facilitate the entry into and locking of the Awujale Palace on January 20, 2026, allegedly to prevent the kingmakers from meeting and completing the selection process.

It is also asking the court to determine whether the Ogun State Obas and Chiefs Law 2021 permits the government to suspend the nomination or selection of an Awujale under any circumstance.

The claimants further want the court to declare that the Fusengbuwa Ruling House fulfilled its statutory obligation under Section 16 of the law after convening its family meeting and completing the nomination process within the stipulated period.

The case has its roots in the prolonged vacancy created by the death of Oba Sikiru Adetona in July 2025 at the age of 91, after 65 years on the throne.

The state government suspended the selection exercise in January 2026, citing petitions from security agencies and other stakeholders. This followed an earlier suspension in December 2025 over what the government described as procedural concerns.

Before the process was halted, 95 aspirants, comprising 94 princes and one princess, had reportedly emerged from the Fusengbuwa Ruling House nomination exercise held in Ijebu-Ode.