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By Oluseye Ojo
The legal counsel to the Aresaadu of Iresaadu, Oba Abraham Olafimihan Adeyeye Oyerinde, has appealed to Oyo State governor Seyi Makinde to bring to an end what he described as a seven-year recognition dispute surrounding the traditional stool.
He appealed to the governor to direct full implementation of court judgments and government legal advice recognising the monarch.
Speaking at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre, Ibadan, on Friday, the monarch’s lawyer, Stephen Raji, urged the governor to release the monarch’s outstanding statutory entitlements, withdraw an official directive allegedly initiating the process of selecting another Aresaadu, and sanction public officials accused of disregarding court decisions and official government records.
Raji alleged that despite the monarch’s appointment by the Oyo State Government on May 24, 2019, and subsequent judgments affirming his position, officials in the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters had continued to frustrate his recognition.
According to him, the ministry, through a letter dated September 2025 and signed by the immediate past Director of Chieftaincy Matters, Mr A.M. Olajire, directed the Surulere Local Government to commence the nomination process for another candidate to occupy the Aresaadu stool, claiming that a court had nullified Oba Adeyeye’s appointment.
The legal team, however, maintained that no court had removed the monarch from office, insisting that all relevant judgments affirmed his appointment.
“This action is sacrilegious, unlawful and a clear abuse of office. It is contrary to the oath of office sworn by the officials involved,” Raji said.
He disclosed that letters written by the monarch on March 9, 2026, and by his solicitors on June 15, 2026, requesting withdrawal of the directive had yet to receive any response.
To support their position, the lawyers presented Certified True Copies of the monarch’s Letter of Appointment and Instrument of Office issued by the Oyo State Government, as well as a February 2, 2021 judgment of the Oyo State High Court in Suit No. HOI/19/2020 affirming Oba Adeyeye as the substantive Aresaadu and ordering payment of his statutory allowances.
The legal team also cited another High Court judgment delivered on March 24, 2023, which dismissed claims by the Emiolu Ruling House to the stool, adding that the appeal against the judgment was voluntarily withdrawn on May 2, 2024.
