Fuji musician Wasiu Ayinde, widely known as K1 De Ultimate or KWAM1, has urged the Ogun State High Court in Ijebu-Ode, to halt the process of installing a new Awujale of Ijebuland.
In the suit dated 16 December, the artist, a claimant to the Awujale throne, wants the court to halt the process of selecting the next king of Ijebuland pending the hearing and determination of his substantive suit contesting his rejection by the Funsengbuwa Ruling House, widely regarded as the next in line to produce the next Awujale.
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He named Governor Dapo Abiodun as the first respondent, alongside the chairman of Ijebu-Ode Local Government, the commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, the Secretary of the Local Government, the chairman of the Awujale Interregnum Administrative Council, and the chairman of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, the Nigerian Tribune reported.
He asked the court to issue an interlocutory injunction restraining the respondents from taking any further steps in the Awujale selection and installation process pending the determination of the substantive suit.
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His requests are contained in the ex parte motion he filed along with his substantive suit, arguing that an interim injunction is necessary to protect his interest and preserve the subject matter of the dispute from being altered or interfered with by the respondents.
As of the time of filing this report, the court had not fixed a date for the hearing of the application.
Awujale Stool
The succession tussle for the stool of the Awujale has generated intense interest across Ijebuland, with more than 60 princes reportedly expressing interest.
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One of the most controversial figures in the unfolding contest is Mr Ayinde, who had expressed interest in the vacant Awujale stool, a claim he anchored on his alleged lineage to the Jadiara Royal House within the broader Fusengbuwa Ruling House.
However, the Fusengbuwa family rejected the claim, insisting that he has no ancestral link to the ruling house.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported the Ogun State Government’s decision to halt the ongoing nomination exercise and order a restart, citing procedural lapses that could trigger prolonged legal disputes.
The intervention came after the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, next in line under the rotational arrangement provided in the Awujale Chieftaincy Declaration and the Ogun State Obas and Chiefs Law, moved to convene a nomination meeting on 15 December. The exercise was aimed at selecting candidates to succeed Oba Sikiru Adetona, who died in July at the age of 91 after a 65-year reign.
In a letter dated 11 December, the ruling house had announced the planned meeting. However, it was later postponed, with the chairman of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House confirming that the decision followed an intervention by the state government.
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Government officials said the move was necessary to ensure strict compliance with the 2021 Obas and Chiefs Law and the 1957 Chieftaincy Declaration, warning that any deviation from the prescribed process could expose the succession exercise to litigation.
Authorities had identified procedural flaws in how the nomination process was initiated, prompting the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to convene a stakeholders’ meeting and direct that the exercise be cancelled and restarted in line with established legal and traditional requirements.
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