The succession dispute over the vacant stool of the Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland has moved to court, with the Fusengbuwa Ruling House asking the Ogun State High Court to compel the Awujale kingmakers to conclude the selection of a new monarch.
The suit, filed as HCJ/149/2026 before the High Court of Justice, Ijebu-Ode Judicial Division, also challenges the alleged lockdown of the Awujale Palace and the suspension of the traditional selection process.
The claimants are asking the court to declare that the nomination exercise conducted by the ruling house was valid and that the kingmakers are legally required to select a candidate from the list already submitted to them.
The Awujale stool became vacant following the death of Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona in July 2025 after a 65-year reign.
Earlier reports confirm that the succession process had been halted amid petitions, security concerns and allegations of inducement, with security personnel deployed around the palace.
According to the court filings cited in the claim, Ijebu-Ode Local Government had notified the Fusengbuwa Ruling House that it was the family’s turn to produce candidates for the stool under the rotational arrangement provided by the Ogun State Obas and Chiefs’ Law.
The ruling house subsequently held a nomination meeting in January 2026 and forwarded the names of 95 princes and princesses to the nine-member Awujale Afobaje Kingmakers Council chaired by Olor’gun Sonny Kuku, the Ogbeni Oja of Ijebuland for the next stage of the process.
The claimants allege that police officers subsequently entered the Awujale Palace and prevented the kingmakers from proceeding with the selection.
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The Ogun State Government had publicly said the process was halted because of petitions, security reports and concerns over alleged irregularities and inducement.
The Fusengbuwa Ruling House, however, maintains in its suit that no evidence establishing wrongdoing was presented to justify stopping the exercise.
It is asking the court to order the kingmakers to reconvene within seven days of judgement and select a preferred candidate from the nominees already submitted.
The claimants are also seeking an injunction restraining the Ogun State Government and security agencies from further interfering with the traditional selection process.
Governor Dapo Abiodun, the Ogun State Attorney-General, the State Executive Council and other relevant officials are named among the defendants.
The legal team representing the ruling house argues that the state’s chieftaincy law establishes a sequence of nomination, selection and government approval which, once initiated, should be allowed to proceed according to law.
The suit also challenges what the claimants describe as unlawful interference with the Awujale Palace and asks the court to determine whether the state government had the authority to halt the process after nominations had been concluded.
The Ogun State Government had earlier authorized the commencement of a fresh succession process before later suspending it.
The case was filed on August 21, 2026, and has not yet been heard. The defendants’ formal responses to the claims have not been made public.
