The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure has affirmed the judgment of the Ondo State High Court which removed Babajide Lawrence Oluwole as the Olu-Oke of Oke-Igbo in Ile-Oluji/Oke-Igbo Local Government Area.
- +How Appeal Court removed Ondo monarch over illegal appointment
Oluwole was appointed in 2018 by the Ondo State Government, succeeding Timothy Fasawe.
Oluwole was appointed in 2018 by the Ondo State Government, succeeding Timothy Fasawe.
However, his emergence was challenged by the Aare Kugbaigbe Ruling House through its counsel, Sola Ebiseni.
The claimants argued that Oluwole, who hails from the Bamgbala Family, does not belong to the Aare Kugbaigbe Ruling House and was not nominated by it, as required by the customary law governing the chieftaincy.
They further contended that the “Traditional Ruling Quarter system” used in his appointment, which sought to widen eligibility to multiple families, is alien to the customs of Oke-Igbo.
According to them, only five recognised ruling houses—descendants of the five founders of the community—are entitled to produce the Olu-Oke, noting that these houses have historically produced all 16 previous rulers.
Delivering judgment on April 13, 2023, Justice Ademola Enikuomehin of the Ondo State High Court upheld the claims and ordered the removal of Oluwole.
Dissatisfied, the embattled monarch, through his counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, filed a Notice of Appeal on April 17, 2023, which was later amended on May 30, 2025, raising 12 grounds.
He urged the appellate court to set aside the lower court’s decision, arguing, among other points, that the Executive Council’s decision had rendered the earlier customary law, contained in the White Paper on the Justice Adeloye Commission of Inquiry, obsolete.
He also contended that the High Court judgment, having been delivered beyond three months, was invalid.
However, in a unanimous decision delivered by Justice M.L. Hassan, with Justices P.O. Affen and P.C. Obiorah concurring, the Court of Appeal dismissed Appeal No. CA/AK/97/2023 for lacking merit, thereby affirming the earlier judgment.
Meanwhile, the Ondo State Government has approved the appointment of Akintoye Felix Adeoye, a lawyer and former President of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), from the Aare Kugbaigbe Ruling House as the new Olu-Oke of Oke-Igbo.
Reacting to the judgment, Sola Ebiseni, lead counsel to the new monarch, described the ruling as a reaffirmation of the customary law governing the Olu-Oke stool, as earlier established by Justice Enikuomehin.
He expressed optimism that the decision would foster unity in the ancient town.
