In a dramatic legal move that has sent ripples through the traditional and political circles of Ogun State which TheWest Newspaper exclusively reported earlier, famed Fuji musician and aspirant to the throne of Awujale, Otunba Wasiu Ayinde Marshal (popularly known as Kwam1 or K1 De Ultimate), has filed a suit before the State High Court seeking to halt the ongoing process to select the next paramount ruler of Ijebuland.
The suit, filed at the Ijebu-Ode Judicial Division, lists the State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, as the first respondent, alongside six other key figures including the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, the Attorney-General, the Chairman of Ijebu-Ode Local Government, and the head of the Awujale Interregnum Administrative Council.
In an Affidavit in Support of a Motion Exparte seen by our correspondent, the musician-turned-royal aspirant deposed that he is a bona fide member of both the Funsengbuwa and, crucially, the Fidipote Ruling House, the very house he claims is next in line to produce the Awujale according to a longstanding rotational custom among the four ruling families.
“That to all intent and purposes, I am a member of the Fidipote Ruling House of Ijebu Ode which is the next in line to produce the next candidate to emerge as the next Awujale of Ijebuland,” a section of the affidavit read.
The affidavit further stated that the applicant has a “vested right and interest” in the succession process, which he claims is at risk of being truncated or conducted in a manner that excludes him.
At the heart of the suit is an urgent request for an Order of Interim Injunction. Kwam1 is asking the court to immediately restrain Governor Abiodun and the other respondents from “taking any further steps, conducting any meeting, or performing any act” relating to the nomination, selection, approval, or installation of a candidate for the Awujale stool pending the hearing of a substantive motion.
Legal analysts suggest the filing of an ex parte motion indicates the applicant believes the process is at a critical and potentially conclusive stage, requiring the court’s immediate intervention to prevent “irreparable damage” to his aspirations.
The stool of the Awujale, one of the most revered in Yorubaland, became vacant following the passing of the late Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, who reigned for an epochal 64 years. The succession process is being closely watched, given the cultural significance and influence of the throne.
As of press time, officials from the Ogun State Government and the listed respondents had not issued an official statement regarding the lawsuit. The court is expected to review the ex parte application imminently to decide whether to issue the interim injunction, which would effectively freeze the selection process.
This legal action sets the stage for a potentially protracted battle at the intersection of tradition, law, and celebrity, with the entire Ijebu community awaiting the court’s next move.
