The Fusengbuwa Ruling House has urged the Ogun State High Court sitting in Ijebu-Ode to intervene in the prolonged delay in the selection of a successor to the late Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, declaring that it could no longer wait indefinitely for the process to be concluded.
Chairman of the ruling house, Otunba Abdulateef Owoyemi, made the declaration after Wednesday’s proceedings in a suit filed by the Fusengbuwa Ruling House against Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, the Awujale kingmakers and other stakeholders over the stoppage of the succession process.
Speaking with Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Owoyemi said the ruling house was compelled to seek judicial intervention after waiting for seven months despite completing its statutory responsibility within the period prescribed by law.
According to him, the ruling house had 14 days to conduct its internal nomination process but completed the exercise within 10 days before submitting the necessary documents to the kingmakers.
He said the kingmakers were subsequently expected to complete the next stage of the process within seven days, but the exercise was halted following petitions and a security report which, he said, had not been made available to the family.
“We waited for seven months. We had only 14 days by the 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.
“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.
“And we’ve been waiting for seven months! The Imam, the Muslims of Ijebuland, 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.
The development followed an interim ruling by the vacation judge, Justice A. A. Omoniyi, who returned the case file to the administrative judge for reassignment.
Justice Omoniyi explained that he would proceed on his annual vacation within the next one week and might not return to duty until January 2027.
Although the judge acknowledged the urgency of the matter, he said the limited time available to him made it difficult to proceed with the suit before embarking on his vacation.
He said the circumstances of the case, the interest of justice and the need for the matter to progress informed his decision to return the file to the administrative judge, who could either reassign it to another judge returning from vacation or direct that he continue with the case.
The matter was adjourned to September 23, 2026, for further hearing.
Earlier, counsel to the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, Otunba Olusegun Otayemi, informed the court that all 15 defendants had been duly served and that his clients were ready to proceed with the case.
Speaking after the proceedings, Otayemi said the ruling house approached the court because the selection process had already commenced before it was stopped, arguing that such deliberate stoppage was not permitted under the law.
“We’ve brought an action, essentially, because there was a stoppage of selection process after it has been initiated. And the law, as we know it, does not permit of 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’s why we are in court.
“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.
However, counsel representing the seventh to 15th defendants, including the Awujale kingmakers, Asiwaju Kunle Kalejaiye, SAN, said his clients were ready to perform their statutory responsibilities if allowed to do so.
Kalejaiye maintained that the process for the appointment of recognised chiefs was governed by the Chiefs Law and subject to specific timelines.
He said the position of the Afobajes was that they should be allowed to carry out their statutory responsibilities while the government performs its own duties.
“The truth of the matter is that 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.
“So, they’re asking for an order for the Afobajes to do their job and for the government to go and do their job.
“And I think it’s a very simple matter, really. Because I think the issue of the appointment of any recognized chief is governed by the Chiefs Law. And these are time calibrated.
“You know, 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 Jebus and Awujale,” he said.
On the decision to return the case file to the administrative judge, Kalejaiye said the suit could either be reassigned or returned to Justice Omoniyi if the administrative judge directed him to continue with the matter.
He said the court had taken the position because Justice Omoniyi was a vacation judge and did not want to commence substantive proceedings under the circumstances.
The Fusengbuwa Ruling House had instituted the suit, numbered HCJ/149/2026 and filed on August 21, 2026, against Governor Abiodun, the Ogun State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwasina Ogungbade, SAN, the 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 the local government and members of the Awujale Afobaje/Kingmakers Council.
The claimants are seeking, among other reliefs, a determination of whether the state government had the legal authority to order or facilitate the alleged entry into and locking of the Awujale Palace on January 20, 2026, allegedly to prevent the kingmakers from convening and concluding the statutory selection process.
They are also asking the court to determine whether the Ogun State Obas and Chiefs Law 2021 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 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, who died at the age of 91 after 65 years on the throne.
The Ogun State Government halted the selection process in January 2026, citing petitions from security agencies and other stakeholders, following an earlier suspension over procedural concerns in December 2025.
A total of 95 aspirants, comprising 94 princes and one princess, emerged from the ruling house nomination process conducted in Ijebu-Ode in December before the government halted the process.
