Court Orders Removal of Ekiti Monarch, Oba Olugbesoye Heads to Supreme Court

The Court of Appeal has ordered the removal of the Oluloro of Iloro-Ekiti, Oba James Oluwafemi Olugbesoye, from the traditional throne, after upholding an earlier judgment of the Ekiti State High Court over the monarch’s installation rites.

The monarch, however, has rejected the decision and immediately commenced legal steps to challenge the judgment at the Supreme Court.

The dispute centres on whether Oba Olugbesoye completed the traditional rites prescribed under the customs of Iloro-Ekiti after his selection and appointment as monarch.

While the Court of Appeal upheld the process through which the monarch was selected and appointed, the court reportedly found insufficient evidence to establish that he completed the traditional rites and ceremony required for his installation.

Counsel to the plaintiff, Falade Olasunkanmi, said the Certified True Copy of the judgment was expected to provide further details on the court’s decision.

He stressed that the case was not challenging the selection and appointment of Oba Olugbesoye but focused on the traditional requirements that allegedly remained unfulfilled.

However, counsel to the monarch, Ezekiel Agunbiade, disagreed with the court’s assessment of the evidence.

Agunbiade said the defence had presented about 32 photographs relating to the monarch’s installation and coronation, insisting that the evidence supported the claim that the required ceremony had taken place.

He disclosed that the monarch’s legal team filed a notice of appeal at the Supreme Court on the same day the Court of Appeal delivered its judgment.

The defence also filed an application for a stay of execution two days later, seeking to prevent the removal order from being enforced pending the outcome of the Supreme Court appeal.

Reacting to the judgment, Oba Olugbesoye expressed surprise at the decision and questioned the standing of the individuals who instituted the case against him.

The monarch argued that those behind the litigation were neither kingmakers nor candidates in the selection process and therefore, in his view, should not have been able to challenge his installation.

He maintained that he completed the traditional requirements for his installation and that his coronation was properly conducted and documented.

According to the monarch, his coronation took place in Iloro-Ekiti during the COVID-19 period and was attended by more than 40 traditional rulers as well as government officials.

He also pointed to photographic records of the ceremony as evidence of his installation.

Oba Olugbesoye further said the incumbent Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, who was then Secretary to the State Government, attended the coronation.

He added that the late former Deputy Governor of the state, Bisi Egbeyemi, presented him with his staff of office during the ceremony.

The legal dispute also extends to questions surrounding traditional rites allegedly performed at the palace.

With the monarch challenging the Court of Appeal judgment at the Supreme Court, the final determination of his status on the traditional throne now rests with the apex court.