A vacation judge of the Ogun State High Court sitting in Ijebu-Ode, Justice A. A. Omoniyi, has returned a suit filed by the Fusengbuwa Ruling House over the selection of the next Awujale of Ijebuland to the administrative judge for reassignment.
The suit, marked HCJ/149/2026, was filed against Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, nine Awujale kingmakers and other government officials.
Justice Omoniyi, who presides over Court 3, said on Wednesday that he would commence his annual vacation within a week and might not resume until January 2027.
He acknowledged the urgency of the matter but said the limited time available to him made it unlikely that he could complete the necessary proceedings before his vacation.
The judge consequently ordered, in the interim, that the case file be returned to the administrative judge for reassignment.
He adjourned the matter to September 23, 2026, for further hearing.
Justice Omoniyi said the file could be assigned to another judge returning from vacation or retained by the administrative judge, adding that the decision was necessary in the interest of justice and to ensure that the matter progressed.
Counsel to the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, Otunba Olusegun Otayemi, told the court that all 15 defendants had been served and that the claimants were ready to proceed.
Counsel representing the 7th to 15th defendants, the Awujale kingmakers, Asiwaju Kunle Kalejaiye, SAN, who appeared with Stephen Abolaji Okoya, said the defendants were still within the period allowed by law to respond to the suit.
State counsel W. A. Onawole also appeared for Governor Abiodun, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice and other defendants.
Speaking after the proceedings, Kalejaiye said the suit was essentially seeking to prevent government interference in the statutory role of the Awujale kingmakers.
He said the selection of recognised traditional rulers was governed by the Chiefs Law, which prescribed specific timelines for the process.
According to him, the kingmakers wanted to discharge their responsibilities and allow the government to perform its own statutory duties.
Otayemi, in a separate media chat, said the ruling house approached the court after the selection process was allegedly stopped following its commencement.
He argued that while circumstances could cause delays, there could not be a deliberate stoppage of a process prescribed by law.
He said the matter was urgent because Ijebu-Ode had remained without an Awujale for too long following the death of Oba Sikiru Adetona.
Chairman of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, Otunba Abdulateef Owoyemi, said the family had waited for seven months for the process to resume before seeking judicial intervention.
Owoyemi alleged that the government halted the process after petitions and a security report were cited, but said the ruling house had not been given copies of the documents.
The ruling house is asking the court to determine whether the Ogun State Government had the legal authority to order or facilitate the alleged locking of the Awujale Palace on January 20, 2026, which it said prevented the kingmakers from completing the selection process.
It is also seeking a determination on whether the Ogun State Obas and Chiefs Law 2021 permits the government to halt the Awujale selection process.
The suit followed the emergence of 95 aspirants—94 princes and one princess—from the Fusengbuwa Ruling House nomination exercise held in December 2025.
The Awujale stool became vacant in July 2025 after the death of Oba Sikiru Adetona at 91, following 65 years on the throne.
The state government halted the selection process in January 2026, citing petitions from security agencies and stakeholders, after an earlier suspension over procedural concerns in December 2025.
