The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, Ondo State, has fixed October 20, 2025, for the hearing of an appeal challenging the dethronement of the late monarch of Oke-Igbo, Oba Lawrence Oluwole Babajide, as the Oluoke of Oke-Igbo in Ile-Oluji/Oke-Igbo Local Council Area of the state.
The appellate court, during its sitting, refused to entertain an application seeking to nullify all prior decisions concerning the Oluoke stool but placed the request on hold with a caution to all parties against actions that could incite unrest in the agrarian community.
With the legal tussle dating back to April 13, 2023, Justice Ademola Enikuomehin of the Ondo State High Court had dethroned Oba Babajide following his ruling that the late traditional ruler was not a legitimate member of the Aare Kugbaigbe Ruling House, the royal family entitled to present a candidate for the kingship at the time of his appointment.
In a case (HOD/80/2018) initiated in 2018 by Princes Rufus Adekanye and Temitope Adeoye, representing the Aare Kugbaigbe Ruling House, it was argued that Oba Babajide’s selection violated both the state’s chieftaincy laws and the recommendations of the Justice Adeloye Commission on Chieftaincy Matters.
The defendants in the suit included the kingmakers, the late Oba Babajide, and the Ondo State Government.
Following dissatisfaction with the lower court’s ruling, the defendants, represented by Olalekan Ojo SAN, approached the appellate court with the prayer that the ruling be overturned.
Ojo also filed motions to amend the notice of appeal, introduce fresh evidence, and secure an injunction to halt the installation of a new monarch.
However, counsel for the Aare Kugbaigbe Ruling House, Sola Ebiseni, opposed the admission of new documents dated 2020 with the argument that they were irrelevant to a case filed in 2018.
Ebiseni criticised the injunction request as a desperate attempt to retain the throne for a deposed and now deceased monarch, describing it as “an act of indolence,” noting that the High Court had already directed the state government to invite the ruling house to nominate a new candidate and reminded the court that the appeal was filed before Oba Oluwole’s death on April 30, 2025, at the age of 94.
With the three-man appeal panel, comprising Justices Omoleye, Shagari, and Obiorah, expressing concern over delays in the matter and stressing its significance to the public, the court dismissed several joinder applications and noted that the local government, a key respondent in the injunction application, was not represented, nor was there proof of service.
The court, however, granted leave to amend the notice of appeal and instructed the appellant’s counsel to include arguments for the fresh evidence in the amended brief.
The case was subsequently adjourned to October 20, 2025, for hearing.
