Seriki Royal lineage sues dead people over Olubadan throne

GBENRO ADESINA/IBADAN

Balogun Saliu Adetunji touted to be the next Olubadan

‎Oyo State Chief Judge, Mukhtar‎ Abimbola has commenced the hearing of a suit filed by Seriki Royal lineage against the Olubadan-in-Council over the appointment of a new Olubadan of Ibadanland.

However, as the case commenced, counsel to the council, Mr. Michael Folorunso Lana told the court that the plaintiffs had instituted a case against dead people, adding that all the defendants in the case except Chief Saliu Adetunji, Balogun of Ibadanland who Olubadan-in-Council has approved to succeed the former Olubadan, Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade 1, ‎are dead.

Responding, counsel to Seriki Royal lineage, Mr Abideen Adeniran, said they could exclude those who are dead through a motion he had already prepared.

The defendants in the case include Oba Samuel Odulana, Chief Omowale Kuye‎, Chief Adeleke Ajani, Chief Saliu Adetunji and Busari Alarape.

The applicants’ counsel‎ was about to present a motion to the court when the other counsel told the court that he just took over the case and would require some days to react to the motion.

Mr. Adeniran said his learned colleague was just using delay tactics, adding that he had served all the necessary processes six days ago, wondering how much time it would take his learned colleague to react to it.

The court insisted ‎that counsel to Olubadan was right to say he would need to study it and react.

Before the adjournment of the case till 16 February, 2016, there was a hot legal tussle between the two counsel before they could agree on the next adjourned date.

While the counsel to Seriki asked the court for a short adjournment date, the counsel to Olubadan-in-Council wanted the sitting to be adjourned to March which the other counsel objected to.

While objecting, he begged the court to consider a short adjournment date because of the urgency of the case‎.

The presiding judge eventually urged the counsel to agree on a date.

Speaking after the court had risen, counsel to Olubadan-in-Council, Mr Lana said “there was an application that this court has no jurisdiction to hear this matter and that we are not aware whether the motion has been heard and the ruling or judgment delivered.

“The complainants have an application to amend their statement of claims to include some orders- an injunction to restrain the new Olubadan from being sworn in or any promotion from being granted. We need time to react to this.

“We have to inform the court that they are suing dead people. Only one of the defendants is alive and that is High Chief Saliu Adetunji. The last promotion exercise done was in 2014. This same set of chiefs went to court at that time got judgment that Seriki line has no right to Olubadan chieftaincy. There was no claim and no appeal against the judgment.”

But, counsel to the complainant, Adeniran told newsmen that “We were supposed to move our application which earlier was to set aside the appointment that had been made by the appointment of certain vacancies that have been filled because since 2008, there has been an injunction granted by this court restraining the Olubadan and other chiefs from filling any vacancies then existing or that may later exist. This order has been granted since November 21, 2008‎ but they have been disobeying court order and have been filling these vacancies.”

Some elderly people from Seriki lineage were seen outside the court weighing their chances in the case.