An Ogun State High Court in Ijebu-Ode on Monday dismissed an application by renowned Fuji musician, Otunba Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, popularly known as KWAM 1, seeking to stop the ongoing selection process for the next Awujale of Ijebuland.
Presiding Justice A. A. Omoniyi ruled that KWAM 1’s suit lacked merit and refused to grant an interim injunction to restrain the respondents from continuing the installation process.
KWAM 1, claiming lineage from the Fidipote Ruling House, had filed suit No. HC3/238/2025, challenging the exclusivity of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House in producing the next monarch.
The musician named Governor Dapo Abiodun, the Chairman of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House Otunba Lateef Owoyemi, the Executive Chairman of Ijebu-Ode Local Government, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, the Secretary to Ijebu-Ode Local Government, and the Chairman of the Awujale Interregnum Administrative Council as respondents.
He alleged that the succession process violated the Ogun State Chieftaincy Law and infringed on his constitutional rights.
While the injunction was refused, the court ordered an accelerated hearing of the substantive case, scheduled to commence on January 14, 2026.
In a related development, the Ogun State Government had earlier cancelled the initial selection process shortly after KWAM 1’s legal challenge, citing procedural errors that could lead to further litigation.
Prof. Fassy Yusuf, Vice Chairman of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, confirmed the government’s directive to restart the process in strict compliance with the Obas and Chiefs Law.
The succession dispute follows the death of the late Awujale, Oba Sikiru Adetona, earlier this year.
The Fusengbuwa Ruling House is widely recognised as next in the rotational order among the four ruling houses: Anikilaya, Fidipote, Fusengbuwa, and Gbelegbuwa.
The case has reignited public debate over traditional succession rights in Ijebuland, as the kingdom awaits the installation of its new monarch.
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