The succession battle over the vacant stool of the Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland has taken a new legal dimension, with the Fusengbuwa Ruling House dragging the Ogun State Government and nine Awujale kingmakers before the High Court.
The suit, marked HCJ/149/2026, was filed at the High Court of Justice, Ijebu-Ode Judicial Division, by Otunba AbdulLateef Adebayo Owoyemi, Otunba Adedokun Ajidagba and Professor Fassy Yusuf, on behalf of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House of Ijebu-Ode.
The claimants are seeking an order compelling the nine-member Awujale Afobaje Kingmakers Council to reconvene and conclude the selection of a candidate for the vacant traditional stool.
They are also challenging the alleged locking of the Awujale Palace by security operatives in January 2026, which they claim halted the selection process.
The defendants include Governor Dapo Abiodun, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, the Ogun State Executive Council, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, the Chairman and Secretary of Ijebu-Ode Local Government, as well as the nine kingmakers led by the Ogbeni Oja of Ijebuland, Olorogun Sonny Kuku.
The Fusengbuwa Ruling House said the Ijebu-Ode Local Government notified it on December 2, 2025, that it was its turn to produce a candidate under the rotational arrangement recognised by the Ogun State Obas and Chiefs’ Law 2021.
According to the claimants, the ruling house held its nomination meeting on January 12, 2026, and nominated 95 princes and princesses.
The list was subsequently forwarded to the nine kingmakers on January 19 for the next stage of the process.
However, the claimants alleged that less than 24 hours later, police officers entered the Awujale Palace after midnight and prevented the kingmakers from meeting to select a candidate.
The ruling house said the state government later cited security concerns and allegations of bribery and financial inducement as reasons for suspending the process.
It, however, argued that no evidence supporting the allegations was presented and claimed that investigations by the police and the Department of State Services did not establish wrongdoing.
The claimants are asking the court to declare that they have fully discharged their statutory responsibility by completing the nomination process.
They also want the court to declare that the kingmakers, having received the list of nominees, are legally obligated under Section 16 of the Ogun State Obas and Chiefs’ Law 2021 to select a candidate and forward the name to the State Executive Council.
The ruling house is further seeking a declaration that the alleged lockdown of the Awujale Palace was unlawful, ultra vires the chieftaincy law and constituted an interference with the selection process.
Among the reliefs being sought is an order directing the kingmakers to reconvene within seven days of judgment and complete the selection process.
The plaintiffs are also asking the court to restrain the state government and security agencies from further interfering with the process.
Counsel to the claimants, led by Otunba Olusegun Otayemi, argued that the chieftaincy law provides a sequential process of nomination, selection and approval which, once commenced in accordance with the law, should be completed.
The case is yet to be heard, while the responses of the defendants have not been made public.
The Awujale stool became vacant following the death of the late Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona on July 13, 2025, after a historic 65-year reign.
The latest suit is expected to add a significant legal dimension to the ongoing process of selecting the next monarch of Ijebuland.
