Awujale: Ijebu chiefs sue Abiodun over interregnum council

The Adele Oba Awujale-in-Council has sued the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, and members of the reconstituted Awujale Interregnum Administrative Council before the state High Court in Ijebu-Ode, challenging what it describes as an unlawful attempt to displace the traditional administrative structure of Ijebuland.

Other defendants in the suit include the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice; the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs; and members of the recently reconstituted Awujale Interregnum Administrative Council, namely High Chief Rasheed Adesanya, the Olisa of Ijebu-Ode; Chief Chris Okunowo, the Bobasuwa; Prof. Jide Ajayi, the Jagun Aso; Chief Stephen Bakare, the Babalaje; and Chief Alade Shote, the Otun Balogun.

The suit, dated November 5, 2026, and marked HCJ/201/2026, seeks to establish the authority of the Adele Oba Awujale-in-Council to oversee the traditional and administrative affairs of Ijebu-Ode during the interregnum following the death of the late Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona.

According to a statement from the media office of the Adele Oba Awujale-in-Council and accompanying court documents made available to journalists on Tuesday, the nine-member council, led by the Adele and Ogbeni Oja of Ijebuland, Dr Sonny Kuku, is asking the court to declare that the Adele system is the only legitimate traditional administrative authority recognised by the native law, customs and ancestral practices of the Ijebu people during the period between the reigns of successive Awujales.

The plaintiffs are also challenging the establishment and subsequent reconstitution of the Awujale Interregnum Administrative Council, describing the arrangement as alien to Ijebu customary law and inconsistent with the Ogun State Chiefs Law.

In the substantive suit, they are seeking a declaration that neither the governor nor the relevant government authorities have the power to create or reconstitute an administrative council capable of displacing the Adele Oba Awujale-in-Council during an interregnum.

They are further asking the court to set aside the purported reconstitution of the AIAC and the appointments of the fifth to eighth defendants, describing them as irregular, illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.

The plaintiffs also want a perpetual injunction restraining the governor, the relevant ministries and other government officials from interfering with or bypassing the customary administrative functions of the Adele Oba Awujale-in-Council.

Similarly, they are seeking an order restraining the reconstituted Awujale Interregnum Administrative Council from holding meetings, parading themselves or exercising traditional, civil or financial administrative authority over Ijebu-Ode under the disputed arrangement.

The statement read that the plaintiffs are seeking: “A declaration that under the native law, custom, tradition, and ancestral usages of the Ijebu-Ode people, the Adele Oba Awujale-in-Council is the sole, valid, and historically recognised traditional administrative authority entitled to manage the interim traditional and local administrative affairs of Ijebu-Ode during an interregnum following the transition of the Awujale of Ijebuland.

“A declaration that the unilateral creation, establishment, or reconstitution of an administrative body known as the ‘Awujale Interregnum Administrative Council’ (AIAC) by the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Defendants is alien, unknown, and offensive to the native law, customs, traditions, and ancestral usages of the Ijebu-Ode people, and completely inconsistent with the provisions of the Chiefs Law of Ogun State.

“A declaration that neither the Chiefs Law of Ogun State nor any applicable customary law empowers the 1st to 3rd Defendants to arbitrarily invent, sustain, or reconstitute an ‘Interregnum Administrative Council’ to sideline, supplant, or replace the ancestral Adele system and traditional council structures during an interregnum.”

The plaintiffs are also seeking an order setting aside the purported reconstitution of the AIAC and the appointments of the fourth to eighth defendants by the first to third defendants, which they describe as irregular, illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.

They further want a permanent injunction restraining the first to third defendants, their agents, officials, ministries or privies from interfering with, bypassing or disrupting their customary administrative functions during the interregnum.

Another relief sought is an order restraining the fourth to eighth defendants from holding meetings, parading themselves or attempting to exercise traditional, civil or financial administrative authority over Ijebu-Ode under the disputed AIAC arrangement.

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Recall that traditional chiefs in Ijebu-Ode and members of the Awujale Interregnum Administrative Council, constituted by the state government in August last year following the death of the Awujale, Oba Sikiru Adetona, recently resolved to dissolve the council and transition to the Adele Oba Awujale-in-Council to oversee the affairs of the ancient town pending the emergence of a substantive Awujale.

The decision was reportedly reached at a meeting involving the Ilamuren, Pampa, Odi and other chiefs of Ijebu-Ode. The traditional leaders were said to have unanimously adopted a resolution mandating members of the AIAC to step down from their existing positions and become members of the newly constituted Adele Oba Awujale-in-Council.

According to the resolution signed by Kuku, the chiefs said the decision to transition from the interregnum administration to the Adele Oba Awujale-in-Council was informed by their consideration of the existing traditional and statutory frameworks governing the Awujale chieftaincy institution.

The government, however, announced the reconstitution of the AIAC, reaffirming its legal authority to oversee the administrative and traditional affairs of Ijebuland pending the appointment and coronation of a new Awujale.

Responding to the emergence of the Adele Oba Awujale group, the government declared that the body had no legal or customary recognition under the Awujale Chieftaincy Declaration or the existing chieftaincy legislation in Ogun State.

It stated that neither the Awujale Chieftaincy Declaration nor the Obas and Chiefs Law of Ogun State 2021 made provision for an Adele Oba Awujale group or assigned it any recognised responsibility in the management of the Awujale stool.

The government subsequently announced the reconstitution of the council, naming Adesanya, the Olisa of Ijebu-Ode, as chairman and Okunowo, the Bobasuwa, as secretary. Ajayi, Bakare and Shote were named as members.

It said the reconstituted council would continue to discharge the legally recognised administrative and traditional responsibilities of the AIAC until a new Awujale was appointed and crowned.

The Fusengbuwa ruling house had earlier sued Abiodun, the Awujale kingmakers and five others before the High Court in Ijebu-Ode, seeking orders compelling the completion of the process for selecting the next Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland.

The Awujale stool became vacant in July 2025 following the death of Oba Adetona at the age of 91, after 65 years on the throne.

The Ogun State Government halted the selection process in January 2026, citing petitions from security agencies and stakeholders, following an earlier suspension in December 2025 over procedural concerns.

A total of 95 aspirants, comprising 94 princes and one princess, emerged from the ruling house nomination process held in Ijebu-Ode in December 2025 before the government halted the selection process.