21 SACKED IBADAN KINGS: Gov Ajimobi drags matter to Appeal Court

Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has approached the Court of Appeal, Ibadan Judicial Division, to challenge the ruling of Justice Olajumoke Aiki, which sacked the 21 new kings he installed in Ibadan land.

The court presided over by Justice Aki had in its judgment of application by a former governor of the state and the Osi Olubadan of Ibadan land, Rashidi Ladoja, challenging the constitution of the panel set up by Ajimobi to review the Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration of 1957, declared the installations of the 21 kings illegal.

Unhappy with the ruling, Ajimobi in an appeal filed on his behalf by his counsel, Yusuf Ali (SAN), at the Court of Appeal of Nigeria, Ibadan Judicial Division, and with suit number M/317/2017, argued that Justice Akin erred by sacking the 21 kings.

The governor hinged his appeal on 11 grounds which claimed among others, that the judge erred by overruling all the heads of the preliminary objection raised about the competence of Ladoja’s case and in the process, failed and refused to follow decided authorities of appellate courts cited before him.

According to Ajimobi, the case filed by Ladoja against the constitution of the panel that reviewed the Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration was “pure academic value and hypothetical.”

Some of the 11 ground Ajimobi hinged his appeal are, “The learned trial judge erred in law and totally misapprehended the facts of the matter in overruling the objection of the appellant on the inappropriateness of the originating summons’ proceedings on the determination of the first respondent’s case.

“The learned judge erred in law and gravely misdirected himself in holding that the case of the first respondent (Ladoja) as constituted is not academic, hypothetical and will serve no useful purpose.

“The learned trial judge erred in law by holding in spite of paucity of facts making any positive allegation against the appellant, that the suit discloses a reasonable or any cause of action at all.

“The learned trial judge erred in law and totally misrepresented and misinterpreted the provisions of the Chiefs Law of Oyo State in coming to the conclusion and agreeing with the first respondent that only indigenes of Ibadan could be made members of the commission of inquiry set up by the governor to look into the Ibadan Chieftaincy stool.”

READ ALSO: EFCC prays court to cancel Metuh’s bail, send him back to prison

He further argued in his appeal that the “governor has absolute discretion under section 25 of the Chiefs Law of Oyo State as to the membership of any commission of inquiry including the one dealing with the Ibadan Chieftaincy.”

This is coming as the spokesperson for the Council of Authentic Mogajis in Ibadan, Chief Wale Oladoja, has claimed that going by the tradition of the land that any king deposed must leave the town because he would not be allowed to live in the same town with a reigning king.

RipplesNigeria… without borders, without fears

Click here to join the Ripples Nigeria WhatsApp group for latest updates.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now