Awujale Stool, Ruling House Sues Abiodun, Kingmakers Over Delayed Selection

The Fusengbuwa Ruling House in Ijebu-Ode has dragged Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, the Awujale kingmakers and other government officials before the Ogun State High Court over the delayed selection of the next Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland.

The suit, filed on Aug. 21, 2026, is seeking orders compelling the defendants to resume and complete the statutory process for selecting a successor to the late Awujale, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, who died on July 13, 2025, after a 65-year reign.

The claimants are the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, Otunba Abdulateef Adebayo Owoyemi, Otunba Adedokun Ajidagba and Prof. Chief Fassy Yusuf.

They also joined the suit the Ogun State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, the state Executive Council, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, the Chairman of Ijebu-Ode Local Government and members of the Awujale Afobaje/Kingmakers Council.

The ruling house claimed that Ijebu-Ode Local Government notified it in December 2025 that it was its turn to produce a candidate for the vacant stool under the rotational arrangement provided by the Ogun State Obas and Chiefs Law 2021.

It subsequently held its nomination meeting on Jan. 12, 2026, with 95 princes and princesses reportedly nominated. The full list was forwarded to the nine-member kingmakers’ council on Jan. 19 for the next stage of the selection process.

However, the claimants alleged that less than 24 hours after the list was submitted, police officers stormed the Awujale Palace after midnight on Jan. 20 and prevented the kingmakers from meeting to select a candidate.

The state government had reportedly cited security concerns and allegations of bribery and financial inducement as reasons for suspending the process.

The Fusengbuwa Ruling House, however, argued that no evidence or formal petition supporting the allegations was presented, adding that investigations by the police and Department of State Services did not establish any wrongdoing.

The claimants are asking the court to declare that the ruling house had fulfilled its statutory responsibility by completing the nomination process and that the kingmakers were legally required to select a candidate from the submitted list.

They are also seeking an order directing the kingmakers to reconvene within seven days of judgment and complete the selection process.

In addition, the ruling house wants the court to restrain the state government and security agencies from further interfering with the process.

The suit also asks the court to determine whether the government had the legal authority to order or facilitate the locking of the Awujale Palace and prevent the kingmakers from carrying out their statutory duties.

Counsel to the claimants, led by Otunba Olusegun Otayemi, argued that the state’s chieftaincy law establishes a sequential process of nomination, selection and approval which, once commenced, must be followed to completion.