The Court of Appeal in Akure has ordered Governor Ademidun Adeleke and all other parties to stop any action on the Akirun of Ikirun chieftaincy dispute while it hears the pending appeal.
Oba Yinusa Akadiri, the current Akinrun of Ikirun, went to court through his lawyer N.O. Oke SAN after the kingmakers began moving to replace him. The lawyer told the court that Chief Kareem Adetoyese, the Eesa and chairman of the Kingmakers, had written to the Gboleru Ruling House asking them to present candidates for the stool on orders from Governor Adeleke.
This directly violated a government White Paper issued by Osun State that told all parties to freeze the chieftaincy matter until the court finished hearing the appeal. Despite that order, the kingmakers started calling for nominations anyway.
When Oba Akadiri's lawyer asked the court to freeze everything and maintain the status quo, something unusual happened. All the lawyers agreed. The counsel for the Gboleru Ruling House, G.A. Adesina, said his clients would not take any action. Bamidele Salami, from the office of the state Attorney-General, said the same thing. Even Chief Sola Ebiseni, the kingmakers' lawyer, supported freezing the process. He told the court the appeal was ready for hearing but had been postponed because one of the deceased claimants' legal representation needed to change.
Justice S.O Nwaka Gbagi, the presiding judge, expressed disappointment that the 4th respondent, identified as the kingmakers' agent, had continued calling for nominations despite the government directive. When confronted, the 4th respondent's lawyer denied knowledge of the action, but the judge did not accept this.
"It is unfortunate that the 4th Respondent can go out of the Government's directive in a matter that is pending before this Court," Justice Gbagi said. The court then ordered that all parties maintain the status quo and avoid any action that could cause breakdown of peace in the community.
The appeal hearing will resume once the court sets a new date.
