The last is yet to be heard on the controversy plaguing the Obaship stool of Iru kingdom in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State. It will be recalled that sometime in June, 2020, the Lagos State Government approved the appointment of Prince Abdul wasiu Omogbolahan Lawal from the Abisogun ruling house of the Oniru royal family in a bizarre manner as the new Oba Oniru of Iru kingdom following the demise of the late Oba Abiodun Idowu Oniru.
However, by a General Form of Writ of Summons (Form 1) sealed at the High Court of Lagos State, Igbosere, Lagos on the 23rd of July, 2020, Madam Abimbola Ogunyemi, Prince Ademola Daramola, Prince Akintunde Akinola and Princess Jaiyeola Deborah Ogunyemi, suing for themselves and on behalf of the Ogunyemi ruling house of the Oniru royal family initiated a law suit constituted in suit No: LD/7081GCMW/2020 against the Governor of Lagos State and 6 other Defendants including the new Oba as the 6th Defendant to challenge the approval and installation of the new monarch by the Lagos State Government as the new Oba Oniru of Iru kigdom.
In the law suit, the Ogunyemi ruling house is asking the court to declare the appointment and approval of Prince Abdul Wasiu Omogbolahan Lawal by the Lagos State Government as the new Oba Oniru of Iru kingdom irregular, wrongful, unlawful, unconstitutional, void and of no effect and to set aside all the steps taken by the Lagos State Government, either by itself, servants, agents or privies or howsoever called in approving the appointment of Prince Abdulwasiu Omogbolahan Lawal by the Lagos State Government as the new Oba Oniru of Iru kingdom. The Ogunyemi ruling house is also asking the court to direct the Eti-Osa Local Government/Iru Victoria Island Local Council Development Area to issue notice to their ruling house to nominate a candidate for the throne and forward the nomination to the State Government for approval as the new Oniru without delay.
The contention of the Ogunyemi ruling house as chronicled in the 33-paragraph Statement of Claim signed by their Solicitor, Abdulrasheed Ibrahim Esq, is that succession to the stool of Oba Oniru of Lagos is regulated by the Oniru of Lagos Chieftaincy Declaration approved by the Lagos State Government and registered by the Ministry of Local Government on the 14th day of September, 1993. The ruling house maintains that the Chieftaincy declaration is very clear and unambiguous in terms and provides for three Ruling Houses in the following order of rotation:
a. Ogunyemi
b. Abisogun
c. Akiogun.
They stated that the immediate past Oniru, late Oba Idowu Abiodun Oniru, who ascended the throne of Oniru of Lagos on 11th May, 1994 and upgraded to Grade “A” Oba by Lagos State Legal Notice No. 20 of 1996 as published in the Obas and Chiefs of Lagos State Law, Ch. 02, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, Vol. 8, page 02-74 is from the Akiogun ruling house appointed upon a public Notice issued to the Akiogun ruling house on the 8th of November, 1993. Ogunyemi ruling house insists that upon the death of late Oba Idowu Abiodun Oniru from the Akiogun ruling house going by the clear provision of the declaration regulating succession to, the stool of Oniru of Lagos as highlighted above, particularly the order of rotation among the ruling houses, it is clearly and indisputably the turn of the Ogunyemi ruling house to fill the vacant stool of the Oba Oniru.
The ruling house explained in great details all happenings in the Oniru family that led to the emergence of the late Oba Idowu Abiodun Oniru from the Akiogun ruling house and chided the Lagos State Government and the Eti-Osa Local Government authorities for hatching a deliberate plan of foisting the candidate of the Abisogun ruling house on the vacant stool of Oniru in flagrant breach of the chieftaincy declaration regulating succession to the stool of Oniru by installing Prince Abdul Wasiu Omogbolahan Lawal as the new Oba Oniru of Iru kingdom against all known customary usages and stipulated procedure for appointment, approval and installation of Oba Oniru despite clarifications on the true position and facts of Ogunyemi ruling house as the next entitled ruling house to nominate candidate to fill the vacant stool of Oniru.
The Ogunyemi ruling house described as upsetting and wicked the installation of Prince Abdul Wasiu Omogbolahan Lawal in a clandestine and most bizarre manner as the new Oba Oniru of Iru kingdom from the Abisogun ruling house in sharp contravention of the registered chieftaincy declaration of Iru kingdom despite all the correspondences showing that it is the turn of the Ogunyemi ruling house to nominate a candidate for the vacant stool of Oba Oniru.
The 6th Defendant, Oba Abdul Wasiu Omogbolahan Lawal has filed an objection to the suit on the 9th of October, 2020 and the Ogunyemi ruling house has promptly responded to the objection as misconceived and a calculated attempt by the new Oba to delay the hearing of the case on the merit. The matter has been fixed to come up on 21st of January, 2021.
With this development, a new page has been opened in the history of succession to the Oniru royal throne, and whether or not the new Oniru will vacate the throne for Ogunyemi as demanded in this case, only time will tell.
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