The legal battle over the selection of the next Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland has taken a new turn, with a vacation judge of the Ogun State High Court in Ijebu-Ode returning the case file to the administrative judge for possible reassignment.

Justice A. A. Omoniyi of Court 3 made the interim ruling on Wednesday in Suit No. HCJ/149/2026, filed by the Fusengbuwa Ruling House against Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, members of the Awujale Afobajes, government officials and other defendants over the alleged stoppage of the process for selecting a successor to the late Awujale, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona.

Justice Omoniyi explained that he had only about one week before commencing his annual vacation and might not resume until January 2027.

Although he acknowledged the urgency of the case, the judge said the limited time available to him made it unlikely that he could take the matter to the stage required before proceeding on vacation.

He therefore directed that the case file be returned to the administrative judge, who would decide whether to retain the matter or assign it to another judge returning from vacation.

The case was subsequently fixed for September 23, 2026, for mention before the appropriate judge.

Justice Omoniyi said the circumstances surrounding the case, the interest of justice and the need to ensure that the matter progresses were factors behind his decision to return the file for reassignment.

The development means that the substantive dispute over the stalled succession process has not yet been determined, leaving both the Fusengbuwa Ruling House and the government defendants to await the next judicial step.

At the Wednesday sitting, counsel to the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, Otunba Olusegun Otayemi, informed the court that all 15 defendants had been served and that the claimants were prepared to proceed with the action.

However, Asiwaju Kunle Kalejaiye, SAN, who appeared for the seventh to 15th defendants, representing the kingmakers, alongside Stephen Abolaji Okoya, said the defendants were still within the time prescribed by law to respond to the claims.

State counsel W. A. Onawole, appearing for Governor Abiodun, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice and other government defendants, also informed the court that their responses would be filed within the stipulated period.

The proceedings were attended by members of the Awujale Afobaje Council, led by the Awujale Regent, Olorogun (Dr.) Sonny Kuku, the Ogbeni Oja of Ijebuland and co-founder of EKO Hospital.

Also present were the Chairman of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, Otunba Abdulateef Owoyemi; his deputy, Otunba Adedokun Ajidagba; and the Vice Chairman, Prof. Fassy Yusuf.

Speaking after the proceedings during a media chat with pressmen Kalejaiye said the case was essentially about allowing the traditional kingmakers to perform their statutory responsibilities without what the ruling house described as government interference.

He explained that the Fusengbuwa Ruling House was asking the court to direct the government to stay away from the selection process and allow the Afobajes to carry out their responsibilities under the relevant chieftaincy law.

Kalejaiye maintained that the appointment of recognised chiefs was governed by law and subject to specific timelines, arguing that the process should therefore be allowed to proceed within the framework provided by legislation.

He said the kingmakers were ready to perform their role and wanted the selection process to be concluded so that Ijebuland could have its next Awujale.

On the court’s decision to return the file, the Senior Advocate said Justice Omoniyi’s status as a vacation judge meant that he did not want to commence proceedings that might not be concluded before his vacation.

He explained that the administrative judge could either retain the case or assign it to another judge, with September 23 now set for the next appearance.

For the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, the delay remains a major concern.

Otayemi said the family instituted the action because the selection process had allegedly been stopped after it had already commenced, arguing that the law did not permit an indefinite or deliberate suspension of the exercise.

He said while unforeseen circumstances could result in some delays, the deliberate stoppage of a process already initiated was different and required judicial intervention.

According to him, the prolonged vacancy of the Awujale stool was becoming increasingly troubling for Ijebuland.

He argued that Ijebu-Ode and the wider Ijebuland should not remain without a substantive traditional ruler indefinitely, stressing that the urgency of the case was one of the reasons the ruling house approached the court.

Chairman of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, Owoyemi, also said that the family had exhausted several avenues before resorting to litigation.

He said the ruling house had waited for several months and, when eventually permitted to commence its nomination exercise, completed the process within the period prescribed by law.

According to him, the family submitted its list to the kingmakers, who were expected to proceed with the next stage of the selection.

Owoyemi alleged that the process was subsequently halted following petitions and a security report which, he said, the ruling house had never been allowed to see.

He further said religious and community leaders had made efforts to facilitate discussions with the governor to resolve the matter, but that the impasse persisted.

He maintained that the ruling house could not continue waiting indefinitely for the appointment of the next Awujale, hence its decision to seek judicial intervention.

The suit is asking the High Court to determine, among other issues, whether the Ogun State Government had the legal authority to order or facilitate the alleged entry into and locking of the Awujale Palace on January 20, 2026, allegedly to prevent the kingmakers from meeting and completing their statutory selection process.

The claimants are also challenging the legality of any government action purportedly stopping the nomination or selection of the next Awujale under the Ogun State Obas and Chiefs Law 2021.

They further want the court to determine whether the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, having conducted its internal nomination exercise within the period prescribed by law, had discharged its statutory responsibility under Section 16 of the law.

The defendants include Governor Abiodun, the Ogun State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, the Ogun State Executive Council, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Ganiyu Hamzat, Chairman of Ijebu-Ode Local Government Dare Alebiosu, the council secretary and nine members of the Awujale Afobaje/Kingmakers Council.

The kingmakers named in the suit are Olorogun Sonny Kuku, Chief Rasheed Adesanya, Chief Oluwaranti Lekan Osifeso, Chief Jimi Lawal, Chief Abimbola Okenla, Chief Kunle Ogunade, Chief Agboola Alausa, Chief Adebisi Adaran and Chief Ayotunde Ola Odulaja.

The dispute arose following the death of Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona in July 2025 at the age of 91 after 65 years on the throne.

The death created a vacancy in one of Ijebuland’s most revered traditional institutions and triggered the succession process.

The Fusengbuwa Ruling House was subsequently identified as the ruling house expected to produce the next monarch under the established rotation arrangement.

Its internal nomination exercise produced 95 aspirants, comprising 94 princes and one princess.

The Ogun State Government subsequently halted the process amid concerns linked to petitions and security reports, with the development becoming the centre of the current legal dispute.

The September 23 mention will therefore be closely watched by stakeholders in Ijebuland, as the court’s next move could determine how quickly the long-delayed process for selecting a new Awujale resumes.