AWUJALE SUCCESSION: FUSENGBUWA LEADERS SUE 12 FAMILY MEMBERS, SEEK N1BN DAMAGES
By Femi Mebude, Ijebu Today News, Igboro Lawa/Public Domain Investigative Desk. 07066675577/08053044503
The leadership dispute within the Fusengbuwa Ruling House of Ijebu-Ode has taken a fresh legal turn, with four principal officers of the family approaching the Ogun State High Court in Ijebu-Ode over what they described as their purported removal from office and alleged attempts to alter the recognised leadership structure of the ruling house.
The claimants — Chairman and Olori-Ebi, Otunba Abdulateef Owoyemi; Deputy Chairman, Otunba Dokun Ajidagba; Vice Chairman, Prof. Fassy Yusuf; and Secretary, Pastor Jeremiah Salami — are also challenging allegations of financial inducement and manipulation allegedly made against the ruling house leadership in connection with the selection of the next Awujale of Ijebuland.
The suit, filed by the chambers of Olusegun Otayemi and marked HCJ/167/2026, was dated September 16, 2026. The four claimants, suing on behalf of themselves and the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, are asking the court to award N1 billion in general damages against 12 defendants over what they described as unfounded allegations of financial inducement and other alleged infractions.
They are also seeking a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from presenting themselves or any other person as leaders or representatives of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House.
12 FAMILY MEMBERS SUED
The defendants are 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.
According to the claimants, the dispute over the leadership structure followed a resolution reached at a ruling-house meeting on November 7, 2025, after an earlier meeting convened by the Ogun State Government at the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, on November 6, 2025.
The claimants said the November 7 meeting formally brought together three previously separate units of the ruling house, headed respectively by Owoyemi, Ajidagba and Yusuf, into one ruling house structure. They further stated that the meeting unanimously adopted the leadership structure headed by the three principal officers.
According to the claimants, the leadership, with Owoyemi — a former National President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria — as chairman and with the support of Ajidagba and Yusuf, subsequently handled the nomination process for the next Awujale on behalf of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House.
They said the list of nominated candidates was thereafter forwarded to the Awujale kingmakers, led by the Ogbeni Oja of Ijebuland, Olorogun Dr. Sunny Kuku.
DISPUTED FACT-FINDING COMMITTEE
The claimants alleged that a breakaway group within the family, including eight of the defendants, constituted what they described as an unauthorised fact-finding committee at meetings held in June 2026. They said the committee was established to investigate allegations, including claims of financial inducement, against the leadership of the ruling house.
The claimants further alleged that at a meeting held on August 9, 2026, which they said was not authorised or ratified by the ruling house, the group announced the report of the fact-finding committee and purportedly declared the removal of Owoyemi, Ajidagba and Yusuf from their respective leadership positions.
They also alleged that the defendants subsequently wrote to Governor Dapo Abiodun; the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Ganiyu Hamzat; the Chairman of Ijebu-Ode Local Government, Dare Alebiosu; the Awujale kingmakers and other stakeholders in a letter dated August 11, 2026, notifying them of the purported removal.
According to the claimants, the letter further urged the recipients not to recognise or deal with them as representatives of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House.
The claimants also referred to another letter dated September 2, 2026, allegedly addressed to the governor, kingmakers, the commissioner and other stakeholders, announcing Otunba Olukayode Otufale as the “Single Unified Olori-Ebi” of the ruling house.
They said the letter further directed that subsequent correspondence concerning the ruling house should be channelled through Otufale.
CLAIMANTS CHALLENGE VALIDITY OF REMOVAL
The four claimants maintain that the purported changes to the leadership structure were invalid.
They averred that no properly constituted general meeting with authority to bind the entire Fusengbuwa Ruling House had been convened and that no valid resolution had removed any of the claimants from office or appointed Otufale or another person in their place.
They are therefore asking the court to declare that:
Otunba Abdulateef Owoyemi remains the duly recognised Olori-Ebi and Chairman;
Otunba Dokun Ajidagba remains Deputy Chairman;
Prof. Fassy Yusuf remains Vice Chairman; and
Pastor Jeremiah Salami remains General Secretary of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, pursuant to the November 7, 2025 resolution.
They are also asking the court to declare that the purported fact-finding committee, meetings of June 7 and 25, 2026, the August 9 gathering and the September 2 proceedings had no authority under the alleged native law, custom, tradition or governing resolution of the ruling house to remove, suspend, discipline or replace the claimants.
The claimants further want the court to declare the purported removal contained in the August 11, 2026 letter unlawful, null and void. They are equally challenging the purported appointment of Otunba Olukayode Otufale as “Single Unified Olori-Ebi”, as contained in the September 2, 2026 correspondence.
CALL FOR PERPETUAL INJUNCTION
The claimants are seeking an order permanently restraining the defendants, their agents, servants, privies, associates or anyone claiming through them from presenting themselves, Otufale or any other person as the Olori-Ebi, Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary or any principal officer of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House.
They contend that continued representation of the defendants as principal officers could, among other consequences, prejudice the standing of the claimants and create complications for the ongoing and time-sensitive process of selecting the next Awujale.
The claimants are also seeking N1 billion in general damages, which they said was compensation for alleged injury to their reputation, standing and offices. They added that the claim was “without prejudice to, and exclusive of,” any personal claim for damages by the third claimant, Prof. Fassy Yusuf, in Suit No. HCJ/153/2026.
EARLIER SUIT OVER AWUJALE SELECTION
The latest case is separate from an earlier suit, HCJ/149/2026, filed on August 21, 2026, by the Fusengbuwa Ruling House against Governor Dapo Abiodun, the Awujale kingmakers and other defendants.
That earlier case seeks judicial intervention in the stalled process for selecting the next Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland. The claimants in that suit include Owoyemi, Ajidagba and Prof. Fassy Yusuf.
On September 2, 2026, a vacation judge, Justice A. A. Omoniyi of Court 3 of the Ogun State High Court, Ijebu-Ode, ordered the case file to be returned to the administrative judge for reassignment.
Justice Omoniyi said he was aware of the urgency of the matter but had only about one week before commencing his annual vacation and might not resume until January 2027. He subsequently adjourned the matter to September 23, 2026, for further proceedings before the appropriate judge.
BACKGROUND TO THE SUCCESSION DISPUTE
The Awujale stool became vacant in July 2025 following the death of Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona at the age of 91, after about 65 years on the throne.
The selection process subsequently became subject to disagreements over procedure and petitions. The Ogun State Government halted the process in January 2026, following an earlier suspension in December 2025, with the government citing petitions from security agencies and stakeholders.
Before the process was halted, 95 aspirants — 94 princes and one princess — had emerged from the Fusengbuwa Ruling House nomination exercise conducted in Ijebu-Ode in December 2025.
The latest litigation therefore places the internal leadership dispute within the Fusengbuwa Ruling House alongside the wider legal challenge over the stalled process for selecting the next Awujale.
The allegations contained in HCJ/167/2026 remain claims by the plaintiffs unless and until established by the court, while the defendants will have the opportunity to respond to the allegations and reliefs sought.
