The Olubadan of Ibadan land, Oyo State, Oba Saliu Adetunji,
on Wednesday sued the state Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, and 23 others over their
involvements in the crowning of 21 kings in Ibadan on August 27 this year.
This came as Ibadan monarch also allayed fears of
his subjects that the state governor was planning to 'punish' him for his hardline
posture on the recent elevation of some high chiefs and Baales (village heads)
to beaded crown wearing status.
The monarch told the visiting governorship aspirant
of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Femi Lanlehin, in his Popoyemoja
palace Ibadan, that the governor remained his son and would never contemplate
dethroning him from the stool of his forebears.
In the suit with file number I/1077/2017, which was
filed at state High Court of Justice, the Olubadan is claiming that the
governor violated Chiefs Laws CAP 28 of the state, saying Ajimobi does not possess
the power and authority to confer anybody the right to wear a beaded crown and
coronet.
The Olubadan is also claiming that the crowing of
the kings is illegal and void since the governor did not consult with the Oyo
State Council of Obas and Chiefs.
He is also
seeking an order setting aside the Gazette number 14 and 15 of Volume 42 of
August 23 and 24, 2017 made by the governor and which conferred the right to
wear crown and coronet on the elevated high chiefs and Baales. He said the
governor’s action violated provisions of the CAP 28 of the Chiefs Laws of the
state. The monarch therefore prays the court to set aside the installation of
the new kings.
Senator Lanlehin had earlier told the monarch that
all great sons and daughters of Ibadan at home and Diaspora are behind Oba
Adetunji in the ongoing struggle.
Lanlehin further declared as illegal, the review of
the 1959 Ibadan Chieftaincy Declaration by Governor saying it is not grounded
in history, law or reasoning.
Lanlehin, who is a senior lawyer and honorary title
holder of the Bamofin of Ibadanland, said only a Chieftaincy Committee headed
by the Olubadan, as the custodian of the tradition and custom of the
metropolis, was empowered by law to propose any amendment to the Declaration
after wide consultation, as contained in the Chiefs Law.
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