IJEBU-ODE, NIGERIA — The traditional administrative crisis surrounding the vacant stool of the Awujale of Ijebuland has taken a dramatic legal turn. The Adele Awujale in Council, led by the Adele(the traditional and customary Regent) and Ogbeni Oja of Ijebuland, Olo’rgun Dr. Sonny Kuku, has instituted a lawsuit at the High Court of Ogun State, sitting in Ijebu-Ode.

The suit, marked Suit No: HCJ/201/2026, forcefully challenges the unilateral actions of the Executive Governor of Ogun State and the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs regarding the interim administration of the ancient kingdom.

Core Demands of the Lawsuit

In the substantive suit, the Adele Oba Awujale-in-Council is seeking definitive judicial interventions and declarations against the Governor of Ogun State (1st Defendant) and members of the state's newly reconstituted Awujale Interregnum Administrative Council (AIAC).

The Claimants are seeking the following reliefs from the High Court:

• A DECLARATION that under the native law, custom, tradition, and ancestral usages of the Ijebu-Ode people, the Adele Oba Awujale-in-Council is the sole, valid, and historically recognized traditional administrative authority entitled to manage the interim traditional and local administrative affairs of Ijebu-Ode during an interregnum following the transition of the Awujale of Ijebuland.

• A DECLARATION that the unilateral creation, establishment, or reconstitution of an administrative body known as the "Awujale Interregnum Administrative Council" (AIAC) by the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Defendants is alien, unknown, and offensive to the native law, customs, traditions, and ancestral usages of the Ijebu-Ode people, and completely inconsistent with the provisions of the Chiefs Law of Ogun State.

• A DECLARATION that neither the Chiefs Law of Ogun State nor any applicable customary law empowers the 1st to 3rd Defendants to arbitrarily invent, sustain, or reconstitute an "Interregnum Administrative Council" to sideline, supplant, or replace the ancestral Adele system and traditional council structures during an interregnum.

• AN ORDER setting aside the purported reconstitution of the Awujale Interregnum Administrative Council (AIAC) and the handpicked appointments of the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th Defendants by the 1st to 3rd Defendants as highly irregular, illegal, unconstitutional, null, void, and of no effect whatsoever.

• AN ORDER OF PERMANENT INJUNCTION restraining the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Defendants, whether by themselves, their agents, officials, ministries, or privies, from interfering with, bypassing, or disrupting the customary administrative functions of the Plaintiffs as the Adele Oba Awujale-in-Council during the period of the interregnum.

• AN ORDER OF PERMANENT INJUNCTION restraining the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th Defendants from holding meetings, parading themselves, or attempting to exercise any traditional, civil, or financial administration over the town and stool of Ijebu-Ode under the guise or authority of the illegal, purported newly reconstituted Awujale Interregnum Administrative Council (AIAC).

Urgent Application for Interlocutory Injunction

In tandem with the substantive writ, the Olo'rgun Dr. Sonny Kuku-led traditional council has filed a Motion on Notice praying the Honourable Court for:

1. AN ORDER OF INTERLOCUTORY INJUNCTION restraining the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th Defendants/Respondents from holding meetings, parading themselves, or attempting to exercise any traditional, civil, or financial administration over the town and stool of Ijebu-Ode under the guise or authority of the purported newly reconstituted Awujale Interregnum Administrative Council (AIAC), pending the hearing and final determination of the substantive suit.

2. AN ORDER OF INTERLOCUTORY INJUNCTION restraining the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Defendants/Respondents, whether by themselves, their agents, officials, ministries, or privies, from recognizing, dealing with, or funding the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th Defendants/Respondents as an administrative council for Ijebu-Ode, pending the hearing and final determination of the substantive suit.

3. AND FOR SUCH FURTHER ORDER OR ORDERS as the Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstances of the case.

Olo’rgun Dr. Sonny Kuku Speaks on the Imperative of the Suit

Clarifying the intent behind this new legal action, the head of the Adele Awujale-in-Council,the Ogbeni Oja, Olor'ogun Dr. Sonny Kuku, emphasized that the lawsuit is an act of cultural preservation rather than an act of aggression.

"This new suit has nothing to do with the succession process, which is already at the stage of deliberation on a candidate out of the 95 names sent to the Afobajes (Kingmakers). This suit is strictly to preserve the cultural norms, practices, and ancestral heritage of Ijebu-Ode on the Adele Awujale concept.

It is on record that we initially advised the Executive Governor on this tradition before even the first AIAC was allegedly constituted. No, this suit is not confrontational; all we want is to preserve the tradition of Ijebu-Ode in these sensitive matters. History is our guide—the Premier of the Western Region then, Chief S.L.A. Akintola, did not constitute any AIAC before the late Oba Adetona was installed in 1960. The Adele concept, historically led by the Ogbeni Oja, is as old as the stool of the Awujale itself."

A History of Escalating Succession Troubles

This lawsuit marks the latest flashpoint in an increasingly convoluted succession battle that erupted following the transition of the revered, long-reigning Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland, Oba Dr. Sikiru Kayode Adetona, in July 2025.

The transition has thrown the ancient city into a web of administrative and legal battles:

• The Government vs. Traditional Chiefs Clash: The state government initially created an interim administrative body in August 2025. However, traditional kingmakers and chiefs resolved to dissolve that arrangement, replacing it with the ancient Adele Oba Awujale-in-Council. In response, the Ogun State Government countered by announcing a "reconstituted" AIAC under a new leadership structure—an executive maneuver that the traditional chiefs describe as an illegal assault on native customs.

• Multiple Stalled Litigations: The succession process has already been bogged down by severe internal family disputes and political friction. Notably, the Fusengbuwa Ruling House filed suit HCJ/149/2026 against Governor Dapo Abiodun and the kingmakers over the forced stoppage of the selection process. Furthermore, internal leadership fractures within the same ruling house triggered suit HCJ/167/2026, a N1 billion defamation and leadership tussle lawsuit.

• Aspirant Grievances: High-profile aspirants, including popular Fuji musician Otunba Wasiu Olasunkanmi Ayinde Adesanya Marshall (K1), have previously approached the court to contest alleged procedural breaches and violations of fair hearing during the screening exercises.

• Twice-Suspended Selection: The official selection process has been halted twice by the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs following severe petitions, financial allegations, and security reports concerning the handling of the process.

Despite Governor Dapo Abiodun’s recent assurances to stakeholders that a new Awujale will peacefully emerge before May 29, 2027, the Adele Awujale-in-Council maintains that the rule of law, ancestral usages, and the dignity of the Ijebu traditional stool cannot be sacrificed for political expediency or arbitrary administrative inventions.

The council urges all sons, daughters, and stakeholders of Ijebuland to remain calm and law-abiding as they seek to protect the sanctity of their heritage through the highest traditions of the judiciary.

A simple and time tested traditional process is being made clumsy and difficult by interference from people and institutions who ought to know better.

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Media & Legal Inquiries:

The Secretariat, Adele Oba Awujale-in-Council

Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.