An Ogun State High Court sitting in Ijebu-Ode on Wednesday warned all parties involved in the dispute over the vacant Awujale stool to avoid taking steps that could interfere with the ongoing court case.
Justice A. A. Omoniyi issued the warning while handling a suit filed by the Fusengbuwa ruling house over the process for selecting a successor to the late Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona.
The court’s position came after counsel to the Fusengbuwa ruling house, Otunba Olusegun Otayemi, asked the judge to direct the parties to preserve the existing situation until the case is determined.
Otayemi told the court that such an order was necessary to prevent any of the parties from taking actions that could affect the subject of the litigation while the case remained before the court.
In his response, Justice Omoniyi said there was no reason at that stage to presume that any of the parties would take steps capable of changing the situation.
The judge, however, made it clear that any party that acted against the court’s directives would be stopped and ordered to return to the position it occupied before the action was taken.
The warning means that the parties are expected to avoid any move that could interfere with the disputed succession process while the case is pending.
Counsel to the kingmakers, Kunle Kalejaiye, SAN, also advised the parties to avoid conduct that could amount to disobedience of an injunction.
Kalejaiye pointed to the legal principle established in the case of Ojukwu v. Governor of Lagos State, saying parties involved in litigation are expected to respect the court process and avoid actions that could frustrate or defeat the purpose of an injunction.
He argued that parties should comply with the court’s directives even where a formal temporary injunction had not yet been prepared.
The dispute followed the death of Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona in July 2025 at the age of 91. He had occupied the Awujale throne for 65 years.
The Fusengbuwa ruling house later approached the Ogun State High Court after the succession process was stopped despite the ruling house having completed its internal nomination exercise.
The ruling house is challenging the authority of the Ogun State Government to halt or interfere with the process after it had convened its meeting and completed its nomination within the period provided by law.
In the suit filed on August 21, 2026, the ruling house is also asking the court to determine whether the Ogun State Obas and Chiefs Law 2021 gives the government the power to stop the nomination and selection process.
During Wednesday’s proceedings, Justice Omoniyi, who is scheduled to proceed on annual vacation, returned the case file to the administrative judge for reassignment.
The matter was subsequently adjourned until September 23, 2026, for mention.
0 Comments
DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions expressed on this platform as comments were freely made by each person under his or her own volition or responsibility and were neither suggested nor dictated by the owners of News PLATFORM or any of their contracted staff. So we take no liability whatsoever for such comments.
Please take note!