The appointment of a new traditional ruler for Alade-Idanre, in Ondo State, by warrant chiefs has thrown the community into confusion and traditional brickbats.
The warrant chiefs recently appointed by the state government chose Ayo Akinnadeju as the Aladeokun of the community.
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The appointment countermanded an earlier one made by the kingmakers of Ademola Akinboro-Akingbaso of the Akinboro family.
The kingmakers had argued that the meeting that appointed Mr Akinboro-Akingbaso formed a quorum and met the requirement of Section 9(1) of the Chiefs Law (which is half of them). They have also held that the Akinboro family was in line to produce the next Aladeokun of Alade-Idanre based on the provisions of the law.
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However, with the announcement last week by the state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hamidu Takuro, that the State Executive Council had approved the appointment of warrant chiefs to appoint a new Aladeokun of Alade-Idanre, there had been an attempt to alter the status quo.
It was gathered that the warrant chiefs went ahead to announce Mr Akinnadeju as the new Aladeokun under the protection of heavily armed security operatives. The meeting was boycotted by the kingmakers who had made the first appointment.
In an effort to preserve the first appointment, the Akinboro Family of the Lagokun Ruling House has instituted a Suit HCAK/558/CIV/2025 against the state government and the newly appointed warrant chiefs, claiming that their appointment violated the Chiefs Law of Ondo State and the Native Law and Custom of Alade-Idanre.
Their suit was premised on the claim that the state government was only permitted to appoint warrant chiefs under Section 9 of the Chiefs Law when the existing kingmakers could not form a quorum to appoint an Oba as a result of the death of some of them.
In the suit, the family submitted that “the kingmakers had already met, formed the statutorily prescribed quorum in Section 9(1) of the Chiefs Law (which is half of them) and appointed Mr Akinboro-Akingbaso from the Akinboro Family, whose turn it is to produce the next Aladeokun under the Aladeokun Chieftaincy Declaration.”
Speaking with journalists following the appointment of another monarch for the town, the Lisa and Regent of Alade Idanre, who is also the head of the kingmakers, Oladipo Akinsowon, disowned the appointment of Mr Akinnadeju by the warrant chiefs.
Mr Akinsowon said he had been bombarded with calls from the sons and daughters of Alade-Idanre, both at home and abroad, as well as numerous other stakeholders, over the situation in Alade-Idanre.
He declared that he and other traditional kingmakers were not part of the parallel appointment carried out by the warrant chiefs because they had initially appointed Mr Akinboro-Akingbaso as the new Aladeokun and forwarded his name to the state government after performing the necessary traditional rites on him.
Mr Akinsowon also said that the government had neither communicated its approval nor rejection of Mr Akinboro-Akingbaso as the new Aladeokun before the warrant chiefs carried out the parallel appointment of another Aladeokun.
He described the state government’s action as a serious desecration of the custom and tradition of Alade-Idanre, which he and the other kingmakers were not ready to be part of.
Also reacting, Femi Emodamori, counsel to Mr Akinboro-Akingbaso, expressed the view that the latest action regarding the Aladeokun chieftaincy was another indication of disrespect and disdain for the judicial process and the rule of law by the State government.
Mr Emodamori said, “This government has proven again and again that it has no regard for judicial process, the Ondo State Judiciary, and the rule of law.
” There are at least three different suits before the Ondo State High Court over the Aladeokun Chieftaincy, and the State Government is a party in these cases.
”Two of the cases are challenging the eligibility of the same Chief Ayo Akinnandeju for appointment as Aladeokun on the ground that he does not belong to either the Akinboro or Akinbola Families, which are the only two families constituting the Lagokun Ruling House that could produce the Aladeokun under the Aladeokun Chieftaincy
He noted that when the State Executive Council announced the appointment of warrant chiefs to carry out the appointment of Aladeokun on 30 December, 2025, his clients immediately instituted Suit HCAK/558/CIV/2025 against the State Government on 31 December, 2025, asking the Court to determine whether the appointment of the warrant chiefs was not illegal, since the traditional kingmakers had already appointed a new Aladeokun in line with the Chiefs Law and the native law and tradition of Alade-Idanre.
Mr Emodamori said that the Deputy Governor, the Attorney-General, the Commissioner for Chieftaincy and the warrant chiefs had all been served the new suit.
He lamented that “The state government trampled on the law. They trampled on the Court; and they trampled on peace, order and decency.”
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“We cannot allow hooliganism to be institutionalised in governance, but the current Attorney-General of the State seems to the bent on leading the state to that state of perfidy,” he said.
“I am sure they are comfortable that the entire Courts in Ondo State are shut due to the ongoing strike, and they are enthusiastically taking advantage of that to perpetrate lawlessness. This is a huge joke. We will nullify their illegality through the instrumentality of the law.”
