Osun High Court throws out lawsuit against Oba Oyelakin, newly appointed Aree of Iree

A lawsuit contesting Oba Muritala Oyelakin’s appointment as Aree of Iree town in the state’s Boripe local government area was dismissed by an Osun State High Court in Ikirun.

In his decision on Tuesday on Oba Muritala Oyelakin’s preliminary objection, Justice I. O. Adeleke ruled out the case.

Iree’s attorney filed a preliminary objection to the lawsuit, pointing out that the plaintiff’s case did not disclose a valid cause of action and that the required parties were not joined.

Justice Adeleke dismissed the case today after finding merit in the preliminary objection.

Recall that an Osun State High Court in Osogbo reprimanded Governor Ademola Adeleke from handing the Staff of Office to Oba Oyelakin in May, according to Obasanjonews.com.

Read Also: JUST IN: Clash erupts between police and judicial workers at Osun High Court

Oba Raphael Oluponle, through his attorney Abdulrahaman Okunade, filed a motion ex parte in a complaint with the number HOS/20/2024, which was followed by the restraining order on Friday, May 3.

In the lawsuit, Oba Oluponle requested an interim injunction stopping Governor Adeleke from appointing Oyelakin as the Aree until the substantive lawsuit was heard and decided.

In November 2022, as his term came to an end, Adegboyega Oyetola, the former governor of Osun State, named and installed Oba Raphael Oluponle as an Aree of Iree.

Following her inauguration in November 2022, Governor Ademola Adeleke issued an executive order reversing Oyetola’s appointments to all traditional rulers.

The state government demanded new selection procedures for the Aree and Owa of Igbajo stools and published a White Paper in January 2024 about the investigation into the controversies surrounding the rise of the three royal fathers.

However, it declared Akinrun’s stool empty and urged all parties to hold off on making any decisions until after the conclusion of the lawsuit that is currently proceeding before an Ondo State Court of Appeal.

Oba Ademola Makinde was installed as the new Owa of Igbajo and Oba Oyelakin was appointed as the new Aree as a result of the state government’s directive for new selection procedures.