The Fusengbuwa Ruling House of Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, has become the theatre of one of the most dramatic succession crises in recent memory. What started as a quiet dispute over who should serve as Olori-Ebi — the traditional head of the family — has now spiraled into a web of courtroom battles, backroom deals, open betrayals, and contested ancestry.
At stake is no ordinary chieftaincy. The Fusengbuwa House is the next in line to produce a candidate for the revered Awujale of Ijebuland, one of the most powerful traditional thrones in Yorubaland.
The Legal Flashpoint – September 17, 2025
The crisis escalated on September 17, 2025, when Otunba Ajidagba Adedokun, of the Adeberu royal family, filed a lawsuit at the Ijebu-Ode High Court against Otunba Abdulateef Adebayo Owoyemi.
Adedokun, recognized as the Olori-Ebi, accused Owoyemi of impersonating the headship of the Fusengbuwa House in defiance of a subsisting judgment by Justice Asenuga of High Court II.
He alleged that Owoyemi lacked any ancestral link to Ile-Nla compound, Agunsebi — the symbolic seat of the Fusengbuwa dynasty — and in fact hailed from Ikoro-Ekiti, not Ijebu-Ode. According to him, this position was once affirmed by the late Awujale, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona.
“Fusengbuwa Ruling House is rooted in Agunsebi Ile-Nla, Ijebu-Ode. No one can rewrite that history. Chief Lateef Owoyemi admitted before Justice Asenuga that he is from Ikoro-Ekiti. He has no claim to Fusengbuwa headship,” Adedokun declared after filing.
The suit, co-signed by Prince Adeleke Adeyemi (Olufadi family) and Prince Ademola Sonaya (Ayora/Tunwase family), underscored a united front against Owoyemi’s claim.
The Sudden Reversal – September 18, 2025
Just 24 hours later, however, the narrative flipped.
On September 18, 2025, Adedokun — the very man who had dragged Owoyemi to court — was seen in a closed-door meeting reconciling with him.
The about-face stunned the family and the wider Ijebu community. Observers whispered that it was less a reconciliation and more a strategic pact against the Folagbade descendants, led by Omoba Adebola Bamidele Adenuga.
To many, the quick reversal raised uncomfortable questions about integrity and principle in the succession race.
The MoU Betrayal – September 19, 2025
If Adedokun’s U-turn rattled nerves, Owoyemi’s next move outright enraged his allies; Barely weeks earlier, on August 31, 2025, Owoyemi had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Otunba Adekunle Olubola Hassan’s faction, merging both groups under his leadership. Under the terms: Owoyemi was recognized as Olori-Ebi, Hassan’s group would produce the Deputy Olori-Ebi, and they would retain the post of General Secretary.
Yet by September 19, The Sage gathered that Owoyemi abandoned that pact, reconciling instead with Adedokun and flaunting the MoU as though it never existed giving room to the speculations that: If he could betray Hassan so quickly, who would he betray next?
The Fassy Yusuf Letter – September 21, 2025
However, the betrayal drew a fiery response from Prof. Fassy Adetokunboh Yusuf, secretary of the Hassan camp and an elder from the Tunwase royal family who in a strongly worded letter accused Owoyemi of: Perfidy and betrayal, running an exclusionary leadership, and dishonouring the MoU barely weeks after signing it.
But beyond politics, Prof. Fassy used the letter to defend his lineage credentials. He reminded the ruling house that he belonged to the Tunwase branch, one of the eight recognized families of the Fusengbuwa dynasty. His grievance was not just about politics, but about the erasure of authentic royal voices, warning that unless the MoU was honored and all branches respected, the matter would head back to court.
The Folagbade Question
Amid these swirling factions, the Folagbade descendants have remained firm as direct heirs of the last Awujale, Oba (Dr.) Sikiru Adenuga Folagbade, arguing that by custom and law, only they have the right to produce the next Awujale.
Speaking on air via NTA Ijebu Ode’s “Egbeyewo” programme, their secretary, Omoba Adekunle Adenuga accused the Owoyemi–Adedokun alliance of attempting to sideline Folagbade’s rightful claim. He called on government to intervene, establish an inquiry, and force all factions to present their claims openly.
A House in Turmoil
Today, the Fusengbuwa House is caught between: Court litigation led by Adedokun, Shifting alliances orchestrated by Owoyemi, Historical corrections insisted on by Prof. Fassy, and Succession claims by the Folagbade descendants leaving Ijebuland watchers wondering: if multiple Olori-Ebi truly coexist, will Adedokun’s sudden reconciliation hold? And will the Folagbade lineage ultimately override these shifting alliances by invoking custom and law?
But as one elder quipped:
“Trying to lay something on nothing is futility. The truth of our customs cannot be erased by propaganda.”
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