Four leaders of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House in Ijebuland have approached the Ogun State High Court in Ijebu-Ode over their alleged removal from office and disputed claims surrounding the selection of the next Awujale.
The claimants — the Chairman of the ruling house, Otunba Abdulateef Owoyemi; his deputy, Otunba Dokun Ajidagba; Vice-Chairman, Prof Fassy Yusuf; and Secretary, Pastor Jeremiah Salami — are suing 12 members of the family.
They are seeking N1bn in damages over what they described as unfounded allegations of financial inducement and other alleged irregularities in the selection process for the next Awujale of Ijebuland.
The claimants are also asking the court for a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from presenting themselves as leaders or representatives of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House.
The defendants include Pa Olusegun Olusoga, also known as “AK Black”; Ridwan Oduneye; Muyiwa Adeleye; Alhaji Taiwo Ajumo; Sikiru Adegunwa Oluwole; Hon Kehinde Lawal; Lukman Logunleko Oludare; Prince Abdul Onalaja; Ashiru Mufutau; Prince (Barr) Osiyemi Johnson; Prince Adeleke Adeyemi, also known as “Leke Adeyemi”; and Otunba Olukayode Otufale.
In their case, the claimants said three previously separate units of the ruling house were formally merged following a meeting held on 7 November 2025.
They said the meeting followed an earlier gathering convened by the Ogun State Government at the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, on 6 November 2025.
According to the claimants, the meeting unanimously adopted a leadership structure headed by Owoyemi, with Ajidagba and Yusuf serving alongside him.
They said the leadership subsequently oversaw the nomination process for the next Awujale on behalf of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House and forwarded the names of nominated candidates to the Awujale kingmakers, led by the Ogbeni Oja of Ijebuland, Chief Olorogun Dr Sunny Kuku.
The claimants alleged that a breakaway faction of the family, involving eight of the defendants, established what they described as an “illegal” fact-finding committee in June to investigate allegations of financial inducement against the ruling house leadership.
They further alleged that the faction held a meeting on 9 August which, they said, was not authorised or ratified by the ruling house.
At the meeting, according to the claimants, the faction presented the report of its fact-finding committee and purported to remove Owoyemi, Ajidagba and Yusuf from their positions as leaders of the family.
The claimants alleged that the defendants subsequently wrote to Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon Ganiyu Hamzat, the Chairman of Ijebu-Ode Local Government, Dare Alebiosu, and the kingmakers, notifying them of the purported removal.
The defendants were also accused of urging the recipients not to recognise or deal with the claimants as representatives of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House.
The claimants further alleged that, in a letter dated 2 September 2026, the faction announced the appointment of Otunba Olukayode Otufale as the “Single Unified Olori-Ebi” of the ruling house and directed that future correspondence concerning the family should be channelled through him.
The claimants rejected the purported changes, arguing that no properly constituted general meeting had lawfully removed them from office.
They maintained that the representation of the defendants was “false in every material particular” and that no valid resolution of the ruling house had removed any of the claimants or appointed another person in their place.
They further told the court that, unless restrained, the defendants would continue to present themselves to the state government, kingmakers, Ijebu-Ode Local Government and the public as the family head and principal officers of the ruling house.
The latest suit is the second legal action linked to the dispute over the succession process for the vacant Awujale stool.
In an earlier case, marked HCJ/149/2026 and filed on 21 August 2026, Owoyemi, Ajidagba and Yusuf sued Governor Abiodun, the Awujale kingmakers and five others, including the Chairman of Ijebu-Ode Local Government, Dare Alebiosu, over the selection of the next Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland.
Justice A.A. Omoniyi of Court 3 of the Ogun State High Court, sitting in Ijebu-Ode, recently directed that the earlier case be returned to the administrative judge for reassignment because of his impending annual vacation.
Omoniyi said he was aware of the urgency of the matter but was constrained by the limited time available before his vacation. He adjourned proceedings until Wednesday, 23 September 2026.
The Awujale stool became vacant in July 2025 following the death of Oba Sikiru Adetona, who died aged 91 after 65 years on the throne.
The Ogun State Government suspended the selection process in January 2026, citing petitions from security agencies and stakeholders. The process had earlier been suspended in December 2025 over procedural concerns.
Before the government halted the process, 95 aspirants — 94 princes and one princess — had emerged from the ruling house nomination exercise conducted in Ijebu-Ode in December.
