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By Sunday Ani
A fresh legal battle has emerged within the Kosoko royal family of Lagos following a dispute over the nomination and appointment process for the vacant Oloja of Lagos stool.
The Akinsanya Olojo Ruling House of the Kosoko Royal Family has approached the Lagos State High Court to challenge what it described as attempts to commence a fresh nomination process, despite an earlier selection of a candidate by the family’s kingmakers.
In a notice addressed to Babatunde Saheed Abiodun, officials of the Lagos Island Local Government and other authorities involved in the chieftaincy process were urged to halt any move toward the appointment or installation of a new Oloja pending the determination of the court case.
The suit, marked LD/14537GCMW/2026, was filed by Prince Surajudeen Abiodun Olojo-Kosoko, head of the Akinsanya Olojo Ruling House and another claimant against the Oba of Lagos and six other defendants.
Counsel to the Akinsanya Olojo Ruling House, Olusegun Fabunmi, said the legal action was necessitated by alleged failure of the appointing and consenting authorities to recognise the earlier nomination of Prince Abiola Olojo-Kosoko for the stool.
According to Fabunmi, the family was surprised by a March 3, 2026 letter from the Lagos Island Local Government requesting the Kosoko royal family to nominate a preferred candidate between Prince Abdul Rafiu Babajide Akanni Kosoko and Prince Mukaila Olanrewaju Kosoko for the vacant stool.
The request, he said, was based on a correspondence from the Lagos State Ministry of Justice dated February 20, 2026, which referenced a letter earlier sent by the Oba of Lagos to the ministry concerning the nomination of the two princes.
However, Fabunmi argued that the request ignored an earlier selection process in which Prince Abiola Olojo-Kosoko was allegedly elected by the kingmakers in accordance with the Oloja of Lagos Chieftaincy Family Declaration of 1983.
He explained that the nine kingmakers representing the ruling houses reportedly voted unanimously for Prince Olojo-Kosoko on December 12, 2020, after which his nomination was ratified.
The senior lawyer further stated that the candidate was subsequently presented to members of the royal family at the King Kosoko Palace on Ereko Street, Lagos Island, on December 31, 2020.
According to him, traditional and administrative steps toward his installation had begun in 2021 after the candidate was said to have met the requirements under the Lagos State Obas and Chiefs Law.
In the suit before the court, the claimants are seeking a declaration that it is the exclusive turn of the Akinsanya Olojo Ruling House to produce the Oloja of Lagos under the 1983 registered declaration governing the chieftaincy stool.
They are also asking the court to affirm that Prince Olojo-Kosoko, having been screened and declared elected by the kingmakers, is the legitimate heir to the stool.
Fabunmi stated that the claimants had also filed an application for an interlocutory injunction to restrain authorities from taking further steps that could affect the disputed chieftaincy process while the case is pending.
He urged the government’s agencies and individuals involved in the appointment process, including the Lagos Island Local Government, to refrain from taking any action that could prejudice the subject of the ongoing litigation.
The lawyer cited the Supreme Court’s decision in Military Governor of Lagos State v. Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu (1986), which established that parties must refrain from self-help once a matter is before the court.
Copies of the court processes were forwarded to the Lagos State Attorney-General, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, the Oba of Lagos and other parties connected to the dispute.
