Court rejects Deji of Akure’s bid to nullify Iralepo’s recognition in Ondo
By Julius Alabi, Akure
An Akure Excessive Court in Ondo State has dismissed a swimsuit filed by the Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi, difficult the recognition of Oba Oluwagbemiga Olofin-Adimula Arulewolasi III because the Iralepo of Isinkan, affirming the authority of the State Government Council to recognise and improve conventional chieftaincies with out the consent of one other monarch.
In its judgment in Go well with No. AK/434/2022, delivered on Monday, Justice Sunday Olorundahunsi held that the state authorities had the statutory authority to improve a minor chieftaincy to a recognised standing, because it did in the case of the Iralepo of Isinkan.
The court docket rejected the Deji’s argument that his consent and concurrence have been crucial for the recognition of the Iralepo, holding that the problem to the state authorities’s authority was pointless.
The Deji, by means of his counsel, S.O. Adedeko, had argued that he possessed the consenting authority over the set up and recognition of conventional rulers inside Akure South Native Authorities Space, together with the Iralepo of Isinkan.
He additionally relied on an earlier judgment of the Court of Attraction, contending that the recognition of the Iralepo with out his consent was illegal and shouldn’t stand.
Nevertheless, the Iralepo, represented by Chief Olusola Ebiseni, countered that the relevant chieftaincy declaration didn’t confer on the Deji any authority to approve the recognition of the normal ruler of Isinkan.
Ebiseni maintained that the Isinkan chieftaincy predated the Akure conventional establishment, stressing that the group possessed its distinct historic id, conventional establishment and territorial boundaries.
The Ondo State Authorities, by means of its counsel, F.S. Akinnibosun, additionally defended its constitutional and statutory powers to recognise and promote conventional rulers, arguing that such authority couldn’t be transferred to one other monarch with out specific authorized provisions.
In his judgment, Justice Olorundahunsi upheld the choice of the State Government Council, which relied on the findings of the Justice Ajama Fee of Inquiry in recognising the Iralepo of Isinkan and the Osolo of Isolo.
The decide held that the federal government’s motion was in keeping with an earlier Court of Attraction judgment in the dispute between the Iralepo and the Deji, which affirmed the authority of the Government Council in chieftaincy issues.
He additionally upheld the federal government’s resolution to represent the Ajama Fee of Inquiry, noting that the submission of memoranda by the Iralepo was in line with the sooner appellate judgment directing the affected communities to return to the Government Council, which had initially denied them recognition, reasonably than search recognition straight from the court docket.
The court docket subsequently upheld the Iralepo’s counterclaim, affirming his recognised chieftaincy standing and declare to the territory of Isinkan.
In figuring out the territorial challenge, the court docket relied on documentary proof, together with a judgment of the Akure Native Court presided over by Deji Ademuwagun Adesida, which recognised the territorial declare extending from Imogun to the Aponmu/Owena Rivers.
Justice Olorundahunsi additional held that Isinkan and Isolo have been autonomous communities and that the state’s chieftaincy regulation didn’t grant the Deji the ability to consent to or veto the recognition of their conventional rulers.
The decide pressured {that a} court docket couldn’t confer on a person an influence that was not supplied for underneath the regulation, thereby rejecting the declare that the Deji’s consent was a prerequisite for the recognition of the Iralepo.
Consequently, the court docket restrained the Deji, his brokers, chiefs and different individuals performing on his behalf from interfering in the affairs of the Iralepo or coping with the disputed land in Isinkan. It dismissed the Deji’s claims and upheld the counterclaims of the defendants, together with the Ondo State Authorities and the Iralepo.
Talking with journalists on the court docket premises after the judgment, Oba Olofin-Adimula described the ruling as a brave affirmation of the customary regulation governing the Iralepo chieftaincy and the territorial id of Isinkan.
He mentioned the group had persistently sought recognition of its conventional establishment and the suitable to train authority over its ancestral land, including that its demand was merely to protect its heritage and stay peacefully inside its territory.
“This court docket has demonstrated braveness in affirming the age-long customary regulation of the Iralepo chieftaincy and the territory of Isinkan in relation to the Deji and Akure,” he mentioned.
“Isinkan asks not more than to be allowed to put on our historical crown and stay fortunately on our God-given land. This has been our place even earlier than the elites and the Joint Peace Committee of the 2 communities, to no avail.”
The judgment marks a big growth in the longstanding chieftaincy dispute between Isinkan and the Deji of Akure, significantly over the recognition of conventional rulers, the autonomy of the communities and the boundaries of their ancestral territories.
