The Oyomesi in Council, renowned as the kingmakers of Oyo town, have submitted a lawsuit to prevent the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, from ousting and substituting them amidst the ongoing tussle over the selection of the next occupant of the esteemed Alaafin of Oyo stool.
The lawsuit, officially labeled as HOY/38/2023 and presented before the Oyo State High Court, features five prominent kingmakers as the claimants.
Their plea entails a court order to restrain the governor and his representatives from “from aborting the process for the selection/appointment of the candidate for filling the vacant stool of Alaafin of Oyo duly conducted by the kingmakers of Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy.”
Among the leading figures behind the lawsuit are the Bashorun of Oyo, High Chief Yusuf Layinka; Lagunna of Oyo, High Chief Wakeel Oyedepo; Akinniku of Oyo, High Chief Amusa Yusuf; Areago Bashorun, Chief Wahab Oyetunji; and the Alapo of Oyo, Chief Gbadebo Mufutau.
Aside from Governor Makinde, the lawsuit also names the Oyo State Attorney General and the state’s Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs as additional defendants in the case.
The kingmakers clarified that during a meeting held on September 30, 2023, they collectively designated Prince Lukuman Gbadegesin as the chosen successor to assume the revered position of the Alaafin of Oyo. The vacancy arose in April last year after the demise of Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, the 45th Alaafin of Oyo, leaving a notable vacuum in the traditional leadership.
The kingmakers are urging the court to prevent the Oyo State governor and his representatives from invalidating the selection of Gbadegesin and “approving or recognising any other candidate” as the next Alaafin “after a duly conducted process for the filling of the vacant stool of Alaafin of Oyo in accordance with the native law, custom and Chieftaincy Declaration of Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy.”
The kingmakers also want the court to restrain the governor and the other defendants from removing them as Oyo kingmakers or “dissolving the Oyomesi in Council or appointing or selecting warrant chiefs to conduct or start a fresh process for the filling of the vacant stool of Alaafin of Oyo.”
Their aim is to obtain a court order prohibiting the defendants from “harassing, disturbing, preventing or stopping the claimants from carrying on their traditional functions and responsibilities as kingmakers of Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy.”
On October 18, several of the Oyo kingmakers underwent intense questioning by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) regarding allegations of bribery connected to the selection of the next Alaafin.
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The petitioner claimed that the kingmakers received substantial sums of money in the millions of naira to favor a specific candidate, prompting the EFCC to summon them for interrogation.
Accompanied by their legal representatives, the kingmakers who responded to the EFCC’s summons were requested to provide written statements, following which they were permitted to depart.
As of now, no specific date has been set for the hearing of the newly submitted lawsuit by the kingmakers.
