The Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji, has sued Governor Abiola Ajimobi and 23 others for crowning 21 kings in Ibadan.
The mass coronation happened on August 27. Also joined in the suit are: the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, the eight high chiefs who were elevated to kings as well as the baales who were conferred with kingship status.
Besides the monarch’s suit, former Governor Rashidi Ladoja, Abdul Jelil Karimu, among others, have also challenged the legality of the coronation in court.
In the suit, which was filed at the High Court of Justice of Oyo State and dated September 19, the Olubadan is claiming that the governor violated the Chiefs Laws Cap 28 and that Ajimobi does not possess the power and authority to confer anybody the right to wear a beaded crown and coronet.
The monarch is claiming that the crowing of the 21 kings is illegal and void, since the governor did not consult with the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs before taking the decision.
He is seeking an order setting aside the Gazette 14 and 15 of Volume 42 of August 23 and 24, 2017, made by the governor and which conferred the right to wear crown and coronet on the elevated high chiefs and baales.
The Olubadan said the governor’s action violated provisions of the CAP 28 of the Chiefs Laws of the state.