Awujale: Fusengbuwa Ruling House drags Ogun govt, kingmakers to court

The Fusengbuwa Ruling House in Ijebu-Ode has instituted a legal action against Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun and other officials over the process of selecting the next Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland.

The suit, filed before the Ogun State High Court sitting in Ijebu-Ode, seeks orders compelling the state government and other relevant authorities to conclude the process for choosing the successor to the late Awujale.

The case, dated August 21, 2026, was made available to journalists on Monday.

Those who filed the suit include the Chairman of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, Abdulateef Owoyemi; Deputy Chairman, Adedokun Ajidagba; and Vice Chairman, Prof. Fassy Yusuf.

The defendants include Governor Abiodun; the Awujale kingmakers; the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwasina Ogungbade (SAN); the Ogun State Executive Council; Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ganiyu Hamzat; Chairman of Ijebu-Ode Local Government, Dare Alebiosu; and the Secretary of Ijebu-Ode Local Government.

Others listed as defendants are members of the Awujale Afobaje/Kingmakers Council, including Sonny Kuku, Chief Rasheed Adesanya, Chief Oluwaranti Osifeso, Chief Jimi Lawal, Chief Abimbola Okenla, Chief Kunle Ogunade, Chief Agboola Alausa, Chief Adebisi Adaran and Chief Ayotunde Odulaja.

The claimants are asking the court to determine 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, “to physically prevent” the kingmakers from convening and concluding the statutory selection process for the new Awujale.

They also want the court to determine whether the Obas and Chiefs Law permits the state government to halt the nomination or selection process for the Awujale “under any guise.”

The claimants further want the court to determine whether, having convened a meeting of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House and completed its internal nomination process within the period prescribed by law, the family had discharged its statutory responsibility under Section 16 of the Obas and Chiefs Law of Ogun State 2021.

They also want the court to determine whether the kingmakers, having received the ruling house’s nomination list, became obligated to select a candidate from the list and forward the name to the Ogun State Executive Council.

The claimants are further asking the court to determine whether the statutory process for selecting the new Awujale had commenced following notices issued by the sixth defendant on December 2, 2025, December 4, 2025, and January 6, 2026.

The Awujale stool became vacant following the death of the late monarch, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, on July 13, 2025, at the age of 91, after a historic 65-year reign.

The plaintiffs claimed that Ijebu-Ode Local Government notified the ruling house on December 2, 2025, that it was its turn to produce a candidate under the rotational arrangement provided by the Obas and Chiefs Law of Ogun State 2021.

The ruling house subsequently commenced its nomination process and held a meeting on January 12, 2026, within the 14 days prescribed by Section 16(1) (b) of the law.

According to the claimants, a total of 95 princes and princesses were nominated, with the full list forwarded to the nine-member Awujale Afobaje Kingmakers Council on January 19, 2026, for the next stage of the process.

The claimants alleged that less than 24 hours after the list was submitted, police officers stormed the Awujale Palace after midnight on January 20 and prevented the kingmakers from meeting to select a preferred candidate from among the 95 nominees.

A subsequent letter from the local government cited security concerns and allegations of bribery and financial inducement as reasons for the suspension of the process by the state government.

The ruling house, however, contended that no evidence or formal petition supporting the allegations was presented. It further claimed that investigations by the police and the Department of State Services did not establish any wrongdoing.

In their suit, the claimants are asking the court to declare that the nomination process was validly completed and that the kingmakers are legally required under Sections 16(1)(e) and (f) of the law to select a candidate from the submitted list and forward the name to the State Executive Council.

They also contended that the Executive Council is required under Section 22 of the law to act on the kingmakers’ selection.

Among other reliefs, the ruling house is asking the court to order the kingmakers to reconvene within seven days of judgment and complete the selection process.

It is also seeking an injunction restraining the state government and security agencies from further interfering with the process.

The claimants also want the court to determine:

“Whether, having regard to the strict provisions of Section 16(c) of the Obas and Chiefs Law of Ogun State 2021 and having convened a meeting of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House and completed the internal nomination of candidate(s) within the time prescribed by law, the claimants are not deemed to have duly and completely discharged their statutory responsibility of nominating candidate(s) for the vacant stool of Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland.

“Whether, having regard to the strict provisions of Section 16(e) of the Obas and Chiefs Law of Ogun State 2021, and the Chieftaincy Declaration regulating the selection of the Awujale of Ijebuland, and upon the delivery of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House/Family Nomination List to the seventh to 15th defendants, the seventh to 15th defendants did not become obligated to proceed to select a person to fill the vacant stool of Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland, and thereafter forward the name of the person so selected to the third defendant.

“Whether, by the provisions of Section 22 of the Obas and Chiefs Law of Ogun State 2021, the third defendant is not obligated, upon the presentation of a selected candidate to it, to act on such selection.

“Whether the first to sixth defendants, or any of them, possessed any power under the Obas and Chiefs Law of Ogun State 2021, or any other written law, to direct or cause the forcible entry into, and locking of, the Awujale Palace by officers of the Nigerian Police as was done after midnight on Tuesday, January 20, 2026.”

Consequently, the claimants are seeking, among other reliefs:

“(a) A declaration that the claimants, having convened their Ruling House meeting and completed the nomination of candidate(s) on or about January 12, 2026, pursuant to the public notice published on December 4, 2025, and the letter of January 6, 2026, have fully and duly discharged their statutory responsibility of nominating candidate(s) for the vacant stool of Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland under Section 16(1)(b) of the Obas and Chiefs Law of Ogun State 2021, and are accordingly estopped from being required to reopen, repeat or recommence the said nomination process.

“(b) A declaration that the seventh to 15th defendants, having received the Fusengbuwa Ruling House/Family Nomination List on January 19, 2026, are obligated by Section 16(1)(e) and (f) of the Obas and Chiefs Law of Ogun State 2021 to select a candidate therefrom and to forward the name of their selected or preferred candidate to the third defendant.

“(c) A declaration that the lockout of the Awujale Palace, purporting to halt the selection process, is unlawful, ultra vires the Obas and Chiefs Law of Ogun State 2021, and done in breach of the claimants’ and the seventh to 15th defendants’ right to fair hearing, and is accordingly null, void and of no effect.”

Counsel for the claimants, led by Olusegun Otayemi, argued in the originating summons that the state’s chieftaincy law provides a sequential process of nomination, selection and approval, which must be followed once initiated.

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