**By James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta **
A vacation judge of the Ogun State High Court, Justice A. A. Omoniyi, sitting in Court 3, Ijebu-Ode, on Wednesday ordered that a suit filed by the Fusengbuwa ruling house against Governor Dapo Abiodun, the Awujale kingmakers and other defendants be returned to the administrative judge for reassignment.
The suit, which challenges the alleged stoppage of the process for selecting the next Awujale and paramount ruler of Ijebuland, was filed on August 21, 2026, and numbered HCJ/149/2026.
Justice Omoniyi said he would be proceeding on his annual vacation within the next one week and might not resume until January 2027.
He said, although he was aware of the urgency of the matter, he was constrained by the limited time available to him before his vacation.
The judge consequently directed, as an interim measure, that the case file be returned to the administrative judge for reallocation.
He adjourned the matter until September 23 for further hearing.
Earlier, counsel to the Fusengbuwa ruling house, Otunba Olusegun Otayemi, told the court that all the 15 defendants had been duly served with the originating processes and that the claimants were ready to proceed with the case.
However, Otunba Kunle Kalejaiye, SAN, who announced his appearance for the seventh to 15th defendants, including the kingmakers, said they were still within the stipulated period to respond to the suit and would file their processes accordingly.
A state counsel, W. A. Onawole, also announced his appearance for Governor Abiodun, the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General of the state, and four other defendants.
The kingmakers were present in court, led by Olorogun (Dr Sunny Kuku), co-founder of EKO Hospital and the Ogbeni Oja of Ijebuland.
Also in court were the Chairman of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, Otunba Abdulateef Owoyemi; his deputy, Otunba Adedokun Ajidagba; and the vice-chairman, Prof. Fassy Yusuf.
Speaking with journalists after the proceedings, Otayemi said the ruling house instituted the action to challenge what it described as undue government interference in the process of selecting the next Awujale following the death of Oba Sikiru Adetona in July 2025.
He said, “We have brought an action essentially because there was a stoppage of the selection process after it had been initiated. The law, as we know it, does not permit a deliberate stoppage.
“Yes, if there are things that cause delays here and there, that can be excused, but not a deliberate, orchestrated stoppage. That is why we are in court.
“As you heard the judge, he is a vacation judge. So, if he is not available when next we are around, it may go to another court.
“This matter is something that has some urgency in it. Ijebu-Ode cannot remain kingless for so long, and that is one of the reasons why we are in court.”
The Chairman of the Fusengbuwa ruling house, Owoyemi, said the family was compelled to seek judicial intervention because it could not continue to wait indefinitely for the appointment of a new Awujale from the ruling house.
He said, “We waited for seven months. We had only 14 days under the law to do what we have done, and we did it within 10 days. Immediately we delivered the papers to the kingmakers; they only had seven days to complete the process and appoint an Awujale.
“From nowhere, a letter came asking that the whole thing be stopped because of what they called petitions, which we never saw. We do not know who wrote the petitions, and we have never seen the security report or been given a copy of it till today.
“And we have been waiting for seven months.
“The Imam, the Muslims of Ijebuland, and the Christians of Ijebuland have tried all they could to have access to the governor so that this matter can move forward, but nothing has happened.
“We cannot wait forever. That is why we had to approach the court for intervention.”
The ruling house had, in the suit, joined Governor Abiodun, the state Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, 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 as defendants.
The kingmakers named as defendants 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 whether the state government had the legal power to order or facilitate the alleged entry into and locking of the Awujale palace on January 20, 2026, “to physically prevent” the kingmakers from convening and concluding the statutory process for selecting a new Awujale.
They are also asking the court to determine whether the Obas and Chiefs Law of Ogun State permits the government to halt the nomination or selection process for the Awujale “under any guise”.
The ruling house further wants the court to determine that, having convened a 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 65 years on the throne.
The Ogun State Government had halted the selection process in January 2026, citing petitions from security agencies and stakeholders, following an earlier suspension over procedural concerns in December 2025.
A total of 95 aspirants — 94 princes and one princess — reportedly emerged from the ruling house nomination process held in Ijebu-Ode in December 2025 before the government halted the process.
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