Oyo Council Of Obas: Court Strikes Out Soun’s Suit

By Gbenga Olumide - 08.03.2008

An Ibadan High Court on Friday re-affirmed the position of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, as the permanent Chairman of Oyo State Council of Obas.

Justice Gbolagade Gbolagunte re-affirmed Alaafin’s position when he struck out the suit filed by the Soun of Ogbomosho, Oba Jimoh Ajagungbade 111, challenging Alaafin on the matter.

Soun had asked the court to order the rotation of the chairmanship of the Council among the Olubadan of Ibadanland, the Alaafin of Oyo and the Soun of Ogbomosho.

The Soun was also contesting Alaafin’s permanent chairmanship of the Council of Obas and Chiefs on the grounds that it contravened the provisions of the Chiefs Law of Oyo State.

He urged the court to order a two-year rotational term among the three First Class Obas.

Before the dissolution and reclassification of the Council into six-zones by former Governor Rashidi Ladoja on July 9, 2003, Soun was one of the six vice-chairmen to the Alafin who was the permanent Chairman.

However, Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, on assumption of office, reconvened the dissolved Council on Nov. 8, 2007 and the meeting was chaired by the Alaafin of Oyo.

The Soun and the Olubadan were conspicuously absent at the meeting. In the light of the development, counsel to the Soun, Mr Kunle Sobaloju, sooner filed a suit before the court, challenging the permanent chairmanship of Oba Adeyemi. During the hearing of the suit, counsel to the Alaafin of Oyo, Mr Adeola Omotunde, urged the court to dismiss the suit, “describing it as an abuse of court process”.

He argued that the suit was instigated in bad faith because the Soun had enjoyed all the benefits accruable to him as the Council’s Vice-Chairman in the last four years without any complaints.

Omotunde, however, argued that even of the Soun enjoyed those benefits within the period, the remaining five Vice-Chairmen never did.

He also said that the application filed to reverse the permanent chairmanship was based on a 1991 Edict, which, he said, was no longer effective. Omotunde argued that the Soun also failed to recognise in his application that it was only the House of Assembly that had the constitutional power to make or review laws in the state.

In his ruling, Justice Gbolagunte said that the suit lacked merit and, therefore, struck it out.

Reacting to the judgment at the court premises, the Alaafin said that the verdict had further strengthened his confidence in the judiciary as the last hope of the common man.