Alawo’s stool: Your Application is unreasonable, Court tells Awojobi Ruling House

  …. Crown Prince commends judiciary, Justice Agboola

A High Court sitting in Osogbo has resolved the issues surrounding the
authenticity of 1978 Chieftaincy Declaration on Alawo of Awo by ruling
against the application of Awojobi Ruling house, describing the
application as unreasonable.

Prince (Mogaji) Ganiyu Ademola Adediji,the acclaimed head of Awojobi
Ruling House in Awo, had approached the State High Court to challenge
the 1978 Chieftaincy Declaration on Alawo of Awo by praying the Court
to decide otherwise against the order of rotation as contained therein
the gazette Chieftaincy Declaration on Alawo of 1978.

Awojobi in the suit No:HED/26/2020, between Prince (Mogaji) A. Adediji
Vs.Prince I. Adebayo &6 ors,brought before the Court as defendants
were; Osun State Governor(5th),State Attorney-General and Commissioner
for Justice(6th), State Commissioner for Local Government and
Chieftaincy Affairs(7th),Prince Abdulkareem Adegboye of Abioye Ruling
House(3rd),Prince Waheed Jimoh of Okunji Ruling House(2nd), and Prince
Lawal Oyekunle(4th).

Barrister Olusola Ajala represents the Plaintiff/Applicant, while
Barrister Kehinde Adesiyan represents 1st, 2nd&4th defendants,
Barrister Olamiposi Egbedinni represents 3rd defendant (Abioye Ruling
House) and Barrister Ambali Adisa represents 5th, 6th&7th defendants

The Plaintiff/Applicant argued on extant custom that the king used to
be picked from male and female descendants and the concocted story was
not any form relating to the historical affinity of Alawo stool by
bringing the 1957 Chieftaincy Declaration to support their argument,
which the Abioye Ruling House had countered with the existing 1978
Chieftaincy Declaration through the Preliminary Objection.

They further argued that they were from female lineage of the Awojobi
ruling house and they should be allowed to produce the next Alawo of
Awo after the death of Oba Musa Olatunbosun Adebayo from Akinsilo
ruling house, urging the Court to give an order of injunction against
the respondents/defendants, restraining them from taking any step
towards choosing of new Alawo.

But the 3rd defendant(Abioye Ruling House) which the 5th,6th&7th
Defendants aligned with, brought a Preliminary Objection by filing a
written address, while other parties filed counter affidavit except
the 1st,2nd&4th defendants counsel replied orally.

The preliminary objection bothers on 1978 Chieftaincy declaration on
Alawo of Awo which is a subsidiary legislation with order of rotation
as Awojobi, Akinsilo, Abioye and Okunji Ruling Houses.

Deliver his ruling, the vacation Judge; Justice Mathias Agboola
declared that the Court does not have the power to make any
declaration against the existing 1978 Chieftaincy Declaration on Alawo
because the application brought before the Court by the applicant was
unreasonable and unnecessary, awarding the cost of sum of hundred
thousand naira(N100,000) against the applicant ( Awojobi ruling house)
after their Counsel appealed to the Court for reduction from the
earlier cost of two hundred thousand naira (N200,000).

The Court affirmed that Abioye Ruling House was the next ruling house
to produce the monarch after the demise of Oba Adebayo from Akinsilo
ruling house, saying that the litigant did claim that he belongs to
the Awojobi ruling house that produced Oba Samuel Ajani Adediji before
Oba Musa Olatunbosun Adebayo.

It emphasized that if it granted the request of the applicant, it was
not their turn to produce the next monarch but turn of Abioye ruling
house, adding that the Alawo Chieftaincy Declaration of 1978 was not
done without the knowledge of the applicant and the declaration was
bidding on all of them.

Sequel the request by the Plaintiff to rule on the 2017 report of
Memorandum of Justice A.B. Abdulkareem on Alawo’s stool, Justice
Agboola disclosed that the panel also affirmed the four (4) ruling
houses in order of rotation in line with 1978 Chieftaincy Declaration
on Alawo of Awo.

Reacting to the judgment, a Crown Prince from Abioye Ruling House,
Prince Abubakar Adeniyi hailed judiciary for this landmark judgment on
Alawo stool in respect of existing 1978 Chieftaincy Declaration,
saluting the courage of Justice Agboola for painstaking to separate
the truth from falsehood of Adesina female lineage of Awojobi ruling
house, describing the judgment as victory for truth against falsehood.

Prince Adeniyi also commended Olapade male extraction of the Awojobi
ruling house for standing with the truth as contained therein in the
1978 Chieftaincy Declaration on Alawo, maintaining that the claim of
Adesina’s family through Ganiyu Ademola Adediji in the Court of
competent jurisdiction as affirmed the position of the Olapade’s male
extraction of Awojobi at the recent Justice Abdulkareem Panel of
Enquiry on Alawo stool that Adesina family were not part of crown
Princes of Awoland, adding that henceforth, they should stop parading
themselves as members of the ruling houses in Awo, the headquarters of
Egbedore Local Government area of Osun State,adding that there was no
historical correlation where female descends of Alawo allowed to
become monarch in Awoland.

Signed:
Prince Abubakar Adeniyi
Abioye Ruling House,
Awo, Egbedore Local Government.
+2347069330499