The Ogun State High Court sitting in Ijebu-Ode has warned all parties involved in the dispute over the vacant Awujale stool against taking any action capable of interfering with the ongoing court proceedings or altering the existing status quo.
Justice A. A. Omoniyi gave the warning yesterday while hearing a suit filed by the Fusengbuwa ruling house over the succession process for the position of Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland.
The warning followed a request by counsel to the Fusengbuwa ruling house, Otunba Olusegun Otayemi, for the court to restrain the parties from taking any step that could alter the prevailing situation pending the determination of the case.
Otayemi told the court that preserving the status quo was necessary to prevent any party from taking action capable of affecting the subject matter of the litigation while the case was pending.
Justice Omoniyi, however, said there was no reason at that stage for the court to assume that either party would take such action.
The judge nevertheless warned that any party acting in breach of the court’s directives would be stopped and could be ordered to return to the position it occupied before taking such action.
The pronouncement effectively placed the parties on notice that the court would not allow anyone to alter the circumstances surrounding the contested succession process while the matter remained before it.
Counsel to the kingmakers, Kunle Kalejaiye, SAN, also urged the parties to avoid conduct that could amount to disobedience of an injunction, warning that such actions could attract legal consequences.
Kalejaiye cited the principle established in Ojukwu v. Governor of Lagos State, stressing that parties involved in litigation are expected to respect the court process and avoid actions capable of frustrating or undermining an injunction.
He argued that parties should refrain from acting contrary to the court’s directives, even if a formal temporary injunction had not yet been prepared.
The latest proceedings form part of the continuing legal battle over the process of choosing a successor to the late Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, who died in July 2025 at the age of 91 after 65 years on the throne.
Following the monarch’s death, the Fusengbuwa ruling house approached the Ogun State High Court after the succession exercise was halted, despite the ruling house having completed its internal nomination process.
The ruling house maintains that it fulfilled its statutory obligation by holding its meeting and completing the nomination exercise within the timeframe stipulated by law.
In the suit filed on August 21, 2026, the Fusengbuwa ruling house is asking the court, among other things, to determine whether the Ogun State Government has the legal authority to suspend or interfere with the selection process.
It is also asking the court to determine whether the Ogun State Obas and Chiefs Law 2021 empowers the government to halt the nomination and selection process under any circumstances.
During Thursday’s proceedings, Justice Omoniyi, who is scheduled to proceed on annual vacation, returned the case file to the administrative judge for reassignment.
The matter was subsequently adjourned until September 23, 2026, for mention.
The court’s warning means the parties must maintain the existing position as the legal battle over the succession to the historic Awujale stool continues.
