The deepening crisis within the Fusengbuwa Ruling House of Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, has taken another legal dimension, with Chief (Prof.) Fassy Adetokunboh Yusuf, Vice Chairman of the ruling house, dragging 11 members of an alleged breakaway faction before the Ogun State High Court over an alleged defamatory publication.
In a suit marked HCJ/153/2026, filed on August 24, 2026, at the High Court of Justice, Ijebu-Ode Judicial Division, Yusuf is seeking N10 billion in general damages, alongside other reliefs, over what he described as false and damaging statements contained in a document purportedly issued by a Fusengbuwa Fact-Finding Committee.
The defendants named in the action are Pa Olusegun Olusoga, Mr. Ridwan Odunrye, Muyiwa Adeleye, Alhaji Taiwo Ajumo, Mr. Sikiru Adegunwa, Hon. Kehinde Lawal, Mr. Logunleko Oludare, Prince Abdul Onalaja, Mr. Ashiru Mufutau, Prince Osiyemi Johnson and Prince Adeleke Adeyemi.
At the centre of the dispute is a document titled “Report of the Fusengbuwa Fact-Finding Committee,” dated August 9, 2026.
Yusuf, through the suit, is challenging the contents of the report, particularly allegations which he says portray him as having been involved in financial inducement, bribery and manipulation of documents.
He is asking the court to determine that the statements and imputations contained in the report are false, defamatory and seriously injurious to his reputation.
The claimant is also challenging the legitimacy of the committee itself, arguing that it was improperly and unlawfully constituted and had no legal authority to investigate him, make findings against him or issue conclusions capable of affecting his reputation or standing within the ruling house.
He is therefore seeking a declaration that the purported Fact-Finding Committee lacked the lawful mandate to conduct the exercise and that its report is invalid, null and void.
Beyond the declaratory reliefs, Yusuf is asking the court to award him N10 billion as general damages for the alleged injury to his reputation.
He is also demanding N5 million as the cost of the action, in addition to an order permanently restraining the defendants from publishing, circulating or disseminating what he considers defamatory statements or materials concerning him.
Another major relief sought is an order compelling the defendants to issue what the claimant described as a full, unequivocal and unconditional retraction and unreserved apology.
According to the reliefs sought, the proposed retraction and apology are to be published in designated national newspapers, on social media and through other print media platforms.
The claimant’s case further challenges the authority of the committee to make findings concerning him and two other individuals identified in the disputed report as the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House Family Structure.
The latest court action comes against the backdrop of wider disagreements within the Fusengbuwa Ruling House over its internal structure, leadership and the process surrounding the vacant stool of the Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland.
The Fusengbuwa Ruling House has been at the centre of the succession process following the death of the late Awujale, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, on July 13, 2025.
The ruling house subsequently conducted a nomination exercise and submitted a list of candidates to the Awujale Afobaje/Kingmakers Council. The process later became stalled, leading the ruling house to institute a separate suit, HCJ/149/2026, against the Ogun State Government and the nine Awujale kingmakers.
In that earlier action, the ruling house is seeking, among other reliefs, an order compelling the Afobajes to reconvene within seven days of judgment and complete the selection of a new Awujale, while also challenging alleged government interference in the process.
The latest suit filed by Yusuf, however, centres specifically on the alleged defamatory contents of the August 9 fact-finding report and the authority of those behind it.
Yusuf’s action effectively places the internal disagreement within the ruling house before the court, with the claimant asking the judiciary to determine not only whether the disputed allegations were defamatory but also whether the committee that produced the report had any lawful mandate to investigate and pronounce on matters concerning him.
The defendants’ responses to the allegations contained in the suit were not stated in the material available for this report, and the court has yet to determine the claims.
The filing of the action therefore does not amount to a judicial finding that the allegations contained in the disputed report were false or that any of the defendants committed defamation.
The case is expected to come up before the Ogun State High Court, Ijebu-Ode Judicial Division, on a date to be assigned by the court.
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