The Chairman of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, Otunba Abdulateef Owoyemi; Deputy Chairman, Otunba Dokun Ajidagba; Vice Chairman, Prof. Fassy Yusuf; and Secretary, Pastor Jeremiah Salami, have dragged 12 members of the family before the Ogun State High Court sitting in Ijebu-Ode over their purported removal from office.
The four leaders are also challenging allegations of financial inducement and manipulation in the ongoing process for the selection of the next Awujale of Ijebuland.
In a writ of summons marked HCJ/167/2026, dated September 16, 2026 and filed through the chamber of Olusegun Otayemi, the claimants are seeking N1 billion in general damages against the 12 defendants over what they described as unfounded allegations of financial inducement and other infractions against them.
They are also asking the court to permanently restrain the defendants from parading themselves as leaders or representatives of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House.
The defendants are Pa Olusegun Olusoga, also known as “AK Black”; Ridwan Oduneye; Muyiwa Adeleye; Alhaji Taiwo Ajumo; Sikiru Adegunwa Oluwole; Hon. Kehinde Lawal; Lukman Logunleko Oludare; Prince Abdul Onalaja; Ashiru Mufutau; Prince (Barr.) Osiyemi Johnson; Prince Adeleke Adeyemi, also known as “Leke Adeyemi”; and Otunba Olukayode Otufale.
The claimants said three separate units of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House were formally merged into one ruling house following a resolution reached at a meeting on November 7, 2025, after an earlier meeting convened by the Ogun State Government at the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, on November 6.
According to them, the meeting unanimously adopted the leadership structure headed by Owoyemi, with Ajidagba and Yusuf serving as deputy chairman and vice chairman respectively, while Salami served as secretary.
The claimants said the leadership, with Owoyemi as chairman, subsequently handled the nomination of candidates for the vacant Awujale stool on behalf of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House and forwarded the list to the Awujale Kingmakers led by the Ogbeni Oja of Ijebuland, Chief Olorogun Dr. Sunny Kuku.
They alleged that a breakaway faction of the family, including eight of the defendants, constituted what they described as an illegal fact-finding committee in June 2026 to investigate allegations of financial inducement against the leadership.
The claimants further alleged that at a meeting held on August 9, which they said was not authorised or ratified by the ruling house, the faction announced the report of the committee and purportedly removed Owoyemi, Ajidagba and Yusuf from their positions.
They said the defendants subsequently wrote to Governor Dapo Abiodun, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Ganiyu Hamzat, the Chairman of Ijebu-Ode Local Government, Dare Alebiosu, the kingmakers and others on August 11, notifying them of the purported removal and asking them not to recognise the claimants as representatives of the ruling house.
The claimants also alleged that another letter dated September 2 and addressed to the governor, the kingmakers and other officials announced the appointment of Otunba Olukayode Otufale as the “Single Unified Olori-Ebi” of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House.
They maintained that the purported removal and appointment were invalid, arguing that no lawful general meeting of the entire ruling house had been convened and no valid resolution had been passed to remove them from office.
The claimants are therefore asking the court to declare that Owoyemi remains the duly recognised Olori-Ebi and chairman of the ruling house, Ajidagba the deputy chairman, Yusuf the vice chairman and Salami the general secretary, pursuant to the November 7, 2025 resolution.
They are also seeking declarations that the purported fact-finding committee and subsequent meetings relied upon by the defendants had no authority under the native law, custom, tradition or governing resolution of the ruling house to remove, suspend, discipline or replace any of the claimants.
The claimants further want the court to declare the purported removal communicated in the August 11 letter and the appointment of Otufale as “Single Unified Olori-Ebi” unlawful, null and void.
They are also seeking a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their agents or anyone acting through them from presenting themselves or any other person as Olori-Ebi, chairman, deputy chairman, vice chairman, secretary or any principal officer of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House.
The N1 billion damages being sought, according to the claimants, relate to the alleged injury to their reputation, standing and offices. They added that the claim was without prejudice to any personal claim for damages by Yusuf in another suit, HCJ/153/2026.
The latest suit is coming amid continuing legal disputes over the selection of a successor to the late Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona.
The ruling house had earlier instituted suit HCJ/149/2026 against Governor Abiodun, the Awujale kingmakers and other defendants, seeking orders relating to the completion of the selection process for the next Awujale.
A vacation judge, Justice A. A. Omoniyi of Court 3 of the Ogun State High Court, sitting in Ijebu-Ode, recently returned the matter to the administrative judge for reassignment, citing his impending annual vacation and the urgency of the case.
Justice Omoniyi subsequently adjourned the matter to Wednesday, September 23, 2026.
The Awujale stool became vacant in July 2025 following the death of Oba Sikiru Adetona at the age of 91, after 65 years on the throne.
The Ogun State Government halted the selection process in January 2026 following petitions from security agencies and stakeholders, after an earlier suspension in December 2025 over procedural concerns.
A total of 95 aspirants, comprising 94 princes and one princess, had emerged from the Fusengbuwa nomination exercise conducted in Ijebu-Ode in December 2025 before the government halted the process.
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