There was a little tension in Ikire town, in Irewole Local Government Council Area of Osun State as a High Court sitting in the town delivers judgement on the faith of Akire of Ikire, Oba Olatunde Falabi.
Amiloded gathered that the stool has been a subject of litigation for over two decades and has been to the Supreme Court.
Our correspondent learnt that as at 10 am on Monday, armed and unarmed policemen were stationed at strategic places including the palace in Ikire and court premise.
Amiloded gathered through Vanguard news that the Plaintiff – Oba Olatunde Falabi, filed the suit alleging that the governor invited him to Osogbo in the presence of Attorney General and Commissioner for Chieftaincy Affairs on the 15 day of April, 2014 notifying him of his dethronement by the Supreme Court.
He expressed that the government at the meeting promised to arrange a comfortable accommodation for him in another town of his choice with huge sum of money to maintain his life for the rest of his years as they wants the dethronement to be peaceful.
The Plaintiff maintained that he has not committed any offence warranting his removal and consequently sought for declarative reliefs and injunctive reliefs from removing him as Akire of Ikire.
But, the state government stated that no such meeting took place.
Our correspondent gathered through Blue Print News that Prince Tajudeen Olanrewaju of Aketula ruling House had filed a suit against the installation of Falabi on the ground that he was not entitled to the throne as at the time he was installed based on the 1958 Akire Chieftaincy Declaration.
Vanguard reports that the legal tussle on Akire of Ikire erupted after the demise of the late Akire, Oba Oseni Oyegunle on the 5th August 1987 and as at the time, according to legal advice from the Court of Appeal, Ibadan, the ruling houses entitled to the throne were in the order of, Aketula, Ladekan, Lambeloye, Disamu and Omisokan.
According to the legal advice dated, January 27, 1993, it showed that efforts to get the new Akire nominated from Aketula ruling house was frustrated by court action through injunction secured by Lambeloye ruling house which Oba Falabi belongs to the restraining government from implementing the 1958 Chieftain Declaration which placed Aketula to produce the next monarch for the town.
It was in the same legal advice that it was stated that if the Higher Court grant the appellant’s (Tajudeen Olanrewaju) request, the Akire, Oba Falabi would be deposed, but if the appeal fails, the monarch would retain the seat.
Subsequently, Prince Olanrewaju filed a suit which ran through to Supreme Court, where the highest court of the land agreed that Aketula ruling house was entitled to the throne.
In a copy of the judgement which Vanguard had a glimpse at, the highest court of the land held that “In view of the fact that evidence on record shows that the 1958 declaration in respect of Akire of Ikire Chieftaincy stool has not been amended or repealed, it subsist which means that there are five ruling houses in Ikire for which the appellant is one of them.
“Based on the above, and the more detailed reasons given in the lead judgment, I agree that the appeal has merit. I accordingly allow this appeal”, the judgment delivered by Justice John Inyang Okoro read.
Subsequently, Prince Olanrewaju of Aketula ruling house approached the High Court sitting in Osogbo in a suit he filed against the Governor of Osun, the State Attorney General and the State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
In the suit, he sought an order of the court granting leave “to bring an application for judicial review to wit mandamus to compel the respondents to give legal and full compliance to the legal advice dated 27th January 1993 which was the instrument relied upon by the respondents to install the Akire of Ikre land particularly, Paragraph 16 of the referred legal advice which is yet to be given strict and full compliance.”
In his ruling, Justice A. B. AbdulKareem held that the plaintiff failed to prove that any meeting was held and also held that Oba Olatunde Falabi, has no legal right to occupy the seat of Akire of Ikire, that he has been occupying
He further held that 8th Defendant’s Ruling House – Aketula Ruling House is entitled to succeed Oba Oyegunle and not Falabi.
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