The ongoing succession battle within the Fusengbuwa Ruling House to produce the next Awujale of Ijebuland has officially shifted from the court of public opinion to the courtroom of the Ogun State High Court. While the recent appointment of Omooba Otukayode Hakeem Otufale as the new Olori-Ebi (family head) was celebrated as a grassroots victory by reformist factions, a cold look at the legal architecture undergirding the crisis reveals a web of statutory, institutional, and civil litigation that may gridlock the entire selection process.
Far from being a simple family quarrel, the battle between the Owoyemi-led establishment and the Otufale-led splinter group is a high-stakes legal chess game.
The Statutory Mandate and The Sovereign Lockout
At the core of the broader crisis is a fundamental dispute regarding the Obas and Chiefs Law of Ogun State 2021. Before internal fractures tore the Fusengbuwa ruling house into two, the original family leadership—spearheaded by the Chairman, Otunba Abdulateef Owoyemi; Deputy Chairman, Otunba Dokun Ajidagba; and Vice Chairman, Prof. Fassy Yusuf — had already driven the selection process to near completion. Under Section 16 of the Obas and Chiefs Law, a ruling house is granted a strict statutory window to conduct internal screening and present nominations to the kingmakers.
The Owoyemi-led faction contends that it fully discharged its legal obligations within this timeframe by submitting its compiled list of candidates to the Awujale Kingmakers, led by the Ogbeni Oja of Ijebuland, Chief Olorogun Dr Sunny Kuku. However, the process slammed into a wall in January when the Ogun State Government, citing security petitions, ordered the physical locking of the Awujale Palace to prevent the kingmakers from concluding the statutory election.
This birthed the first major legal front: Suit No. HCJ/149/2026. Filed by Owoyemi and his executives against Governor Dapo Abiodun and the nine kingmakers, the suit demands that the court determine whether the executive arm of government possesses the constitutional or statutory power to physically halt an active chieftaincy selection process or lock a traditional palace.
The N1 Billion Defamation and Legitimacy Counter-Attack
While the Owoyemi faction was busy litigating against the state executive, an internal rebellion brewed. Accusing the leadership of procedural manipulation and alleged financial inducements—specifically linked to the ballooning of the list to over 85 aspirants—a breakaway faction set up an unauthorised “fact-finding committee”. This committee purported to remove Owoyemi, Ajidagba, and Yusuf from office, culminating in the September declaration of Omooba Otufale as the “Single Unified Olori-Ebi.”
The legal counter-attack from the established leadership was swift and merciless. On September 16, the Owoyemi leadership filed Suit No. HCJ/167/2026 at the Ogun State High Court in Ijebu-Ode. The suit targets 12 prominent family members—including Otufale himself—seeking N1 billion in damages for defamation and the tort of unlawful interference with the Awujale selection process.
The technical arguments raised by the claimants in this second suit strike at the very heart of Otufale’s claims to legitimacy. Owoyemi’s legal counsel argues that:
- Lack of Lawful Authority: The general meeting held at Ule Nla Agunsebi Hall that appointed Otufale was not convened by the recognised, lawful leadership structure adopted on November 7, 2025, which had been brokered directly by the State Government at Abeokuta.
- Procedural Nullity: Because the meeting lacked lawful convocation, any resolution passed therein—including the purported removal of the existing principal officers—is legally void and incapable of binding the Fusengbuwa Ruling House.
- Irreparable Prejudice: The claimants argue that by sending letters to Governor Abiodun and the Chieftaincy Ministry directing future correspondence to go through Otufale, the defendants are actively usurping statutory authority.
Without prejudice to the cases currently before the courts, the facts, as they stand, are difficult to dispute: the duly recognised leadership of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House remains the Otunba Owoyemi-led team, following the state government-brokered meeting of November 6, 2025. That position remains in force until a court of competent jurisdiction says otherwise.
Until such a ruling is made, the theatrics of the Otufale faction cannot alter that reality. Their posturing does not confer legitimacy, nor does it overturn an existing recognition. At best, it can be likened to what the Yorubas call Awada Kerikeri (profound joke/comedy).
