Four houses constituting Adogun Atele family have asked Ogun State High Court to restrain Musiliu Ademola Eletu Asorota from further parading himself as the Onitele of Itele, Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government, pending the determination of the suit against him and 10 others.
The claimants, Madam Fausat Alimi Akapo, Sunday Taiwo Owotolu, Chief Taoreed Liasu Dada and Alhaji Monsuru Yusuf, are also seeking to restrain Asorota from celebrating the anniversary of his installation as Onitele of Itele.
Listed as defendants in the suit marked AB/492/2023 are the Head of Service, Ogun State, Mr. Peter Kolawole Fagbohun, member of House
Representatives, Abeokuta South Federal Constituency, Moruf Afolabi Afuape, Director of Administration, Ado/Odo/Ota Local Government, Mr. Solomon Dada, and Mr. Lukman Opaleye.
Other defendants are, Olota of Ota, Oba Adeyemi Obalanlege, the governor, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Attorney General, Ado-Odo/Ota LG and the Egba Traditional Council.
The claimants, through their counsel, Mr. Kunle Adegoke (SAN) are also seeking to restrain the seventh to10th defendants from registering any chieftaincy declaration in respect of Onitele of Itele stool. They are praying the court for an order of interlocutory injunction restraining Egba Traditional Council from allowing Asorota attend and participate in the meeting of the council, until the final determination of the substantive suit, and for such further or other orders as the court may deem fit to make in the circumstance.
In an affidavit deposed to by Dada, he stated that the Supreme Court had, since December 16, 2011, determined the appeal of Onitele of Itele stool and declared clearly that members of Adogun Atele family are eligible to the stool of Onitele of Itele.
He alleged that the first – sixth defendants falsified minutes of a meeting purportedly held on August 5, 2020, in the name of Adogun Atele family to pick the sixth defendant/respondent by assembling impostors as members of Adogun Atele. He stated that based on this, the seventh —10th defendant appointed warrant kingmakers, which purportedly approved the nomination of the sixth defendant on August 7, 2020: “The sixth defendant appointed as Onitele of Itele does not belong to any of the four ruling houses mentioned in Itele as contained in the Supreme Court judgment in SC: 200/2003. Upon the installation of the sixth defendant, the seventh – 10th defendants’ are planning to register chieftaincy declarations for the judgment debtors different from the ruling houses declared by the Supreme Court in its judgment of December 16, 2016.”