The leadership of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, has dragged 12 members of the family before the Ogun State High Court over an alleged leadership tussle and disagreements surrounding the selection of the next Awujale of Ijebuland.
The suit, marked HCJ/167/2026 and filed on September 16, 2026, was instituted by the Chairman and Olori-Ebi of the ruling house, Otunba Abdulateef Owoyemi; Deputy Chairman, Otunba Dokun Ajidagba; Vice Chairman, Prof. Fassy Yusuf; and Secretary, Pastor Jeremiah Salami.
The claimants are seeking N1 billion in general damages, alleging that the defendants made unfounded allegations of financial inducement and other infractions against them in connection with the selection process for the next Awujale.
They are also asking the court to restrain the defendants from parading themselves or any other person as leaders or representatives of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House.
The defendants include Pa Olusegun Olusoga, popularly known as “AK Black”; Ridwan Oduneye; Muyiwa Adeleye; Alhaji Taiwo Ajumo; Sikiru Adegunwa Oluwole; Kehinde Lawal; Lukman Logunleko Oludare; Prince Abdul Onalaja; Ashiru Mufutau; Prince Osiyemi Johnson; Prince Adeleke Adeyemi, also known as “Leke Adeyemi”; and Otunba Olukayode Otufale.
According to the claimants, the present leadership structure emerged from a resolution reached at a November 7, 2025 meeting, following an earlier meeting convened by the Ogun State Government. They said three separate units of the ruling house were subsequently merged into one, with Owoyemi, Ajidagba and Yusuf recognised as its principal leaders.
The claimants alleged that a breakaway faction subsequently established a fact-finding committee in June 2026 to investigate allegations of financial inducement against the leadership. They said the faction later purportedly removed them from office at a meeting on August 9.
They further alleged that a letter dated August 11 was sent to Governor Dapo Abiodun, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, the Chairman of Ijebu-Ode Local Government and the Awujale kingmakers, notifying them of the purported removal.
The claimants also challenged the alleged appointment of Otufale as the “Single Unified Olori-Ebi” of the ruling house, insisting that no properly constituted general meeting had lawfully removed them or appointed replacements.
They are asking the court to declare their removal unlawful and to recognise Owoyemi, Ajidagba, Yusuf and Salami as the duly constituted Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary respectively.
The suit comes amid a broader dispute over the process for selecting a successor to the late Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, who died in July 2025 at the age of 91 after 65 years on the throne.
The Fusengbuwa Ruling House had also previously sued the Ogun State Government, the Awujale kingmakers and other parties over the stalled selection process. That case, marked HCJ/149/2026, is scheduled for further proceedings on September 23, 2026.
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