The crisis over the vacant stool of the Awujale of Ijebuland has deepened, as the Adele Awujale-in-Council has dragged Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, and members of the Awujale Interregnum Administrative Council, AIAC, to court.
The suit, marked HCJ/201/2026, was filed at the High Court of Ogun State, sitting in Ijebu-Ode, by the Adele Awujale-in-Council, led by the Adele and Ogbeni Oja of Ijebuland, Olo’rgun Dr Sonny Kuku.
The council is challenging the creation and reconstitution of the AIAC by the governor and the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
In the suit, the claimants are asking the court to declare that, under the native law, custom and tradition of the Ijebu-Ode people, the Adele Awujale-in-Council is the sole valid traditional administrative authority entitled to manage interim affairs during an interregnum.
They are also asking the court to declare that the creation of the AIAC is alien, unknown and offensive to the customs of the Ijebu-Ode people and inconsistent with the Chiefs Law of Ogun State.
The council wants the court to set aside the reconstitution of the AIAC and the appointments of its members, describing them as irregular, illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.
It is also seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining the governor and others from interfering with the customary functions of the Adele Awujale-in-Council.
The council is further seeking an injunction restraining members of the AIAC from holding meetings, parading themselves or exercising any traditional, civil or financial administration over Ijebu-Ode under the guise of the council.
It also filed a motion on notice seeking an interlocutory injunction restraining AIAC members from acting in that capacity and the governor from recognising, dealing with or funding them, pending the determination of the substantive suit.
Speaking on the suit, Kuku said the action had nothing to do with the succession process, which, according to him, was already at the stage of deliberation on a candidate out of the 95 names sent to the Afobajes, the kingmakers.
“This suit is strictly to preserve the cultural norms, practices, and ancestral heritage of Ijebu-Ode on the Adele Awujale concept,” he said.
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“It is on record that we initially advised the Executive Governor on this tradition before even the first AIAC was allegedly constituted. This suit is not confrontational; all we want is to preserve the tradition of Ijebu-Ode in these sensitive matters.”
He said history showed that the then Premier of the Western Region, 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,” he added.
The succession crisis followed the transition of the Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, in July 2025.
The state government had initially created an interim administrative body in August 2025, but traditional kingmakers and chiefs resolved to dissolve it and replace it with the Adele Awujale-in-Council.
The state government, however, announced a reconstituted AIAC, a move the traditional chiefs described as an illegal assault on native customs.
The succession process has also been bogged down by other litigations, including suit HCJ/149/2026, filed by the Fusengbuwa Ruling House against Governor Abiodun and the kingmakers over the stoppage of the selection process, and suit HCJ/167/2026, involving a N1 billion defamation and leadership tussle within the same ruling house.
High-profile aspirants, including Fuji musician Otunba Wasiu Ayinde Marshall, popularly known as K1, have also approached the court to contest alleged procedural breaches during screening.
The selection process has been halted twice by the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs following petitions, financial allegations and security reports.
Despite Governor Abiodun’s recent assurance that a new Awujale will emerge before May 29, 2027, the Adele Awujale-in-Council maintains that the rule of law and dignity of the stool cannot be sacrificed for political expediency.
