The chieftaincy tussle ensuing between an Osun monarch, Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi and the former Publicity Secretary of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN), High Chief Abiola Ogundokun has taken a new dimesion, as Ogundokun headed to court to challenge the withdrawal of his chieftaincy titles by the monarch.
Recall, that Oba Akanbi had recently announced the revocation of all chieftaincy titles of 82-year old Chief Ogundokun, ranging from Islamic, social and traditional titles.
Oba Akanbi in a meeting with some chiefs said “As the ruler and custodian of all Traditional, Cultural religious and social clubs in Iwoland, I hereby relief him of all his traditional and social titles ranging from Basorun Muslim of Iwoland, member of Iwo Board of Trustees (IBOT), Otun Balogun of Iwoland and other proposed titles that may be accorded to him from Iwo.
“A Chief is appointed to favour the town. Any Chief, either traditional or religious treasonable should be dealt with accordingly. Ogundokun is one of them. I removed him after due consultation with Chiefs, religious leaders, stakeholders and opinion leaders in the interest of Iwo.”
But Ogundokun in his swift reaction fired back, saying Oluwo lacks competence to strip him of his religious and traditional chieftaincy and described the purported removal as a mere joke.
In the plaintiff’s statement of claim, filled by his legal practitioner, Barr Soji Oyetayo, and a copy which was made available to our correspondent in Osogbo, Ogundokun claimed that the Islamic clerics from the Local Governments in Iwoland under the headship of the Chief Imam of Iwo, conferred on him the chieftaincy title of Bashorun Musulumi of Iwoland sometimes in the year 2000 and he was subsequently turbaned in recognition of his contribution to the development and growth of Islam in Iwoland.
According to the statement, “the plaintiff shall at the trial of this suit, rely on the certificate issued in his favour when the said chieftaincy title was conferred on him.
“The plaintiff further avers that the said chieftaincy title of Bashorun Musulumi of Iwoland is purely an islamic religion title and is not associated with the traditional chieftaincy title in Iwo in which the 1st Defendant is the prescribed authority.
“The plaintiff further avers that 1st Defendant has no role to play whatsoever in the appointment, installation and/or turbaning of Bashorun Musulumi of Iwoland.
“The plaintiff further stated that he has been performing his duties as the Bashorun Musulumi of Iwoland to the satisfaction of islamic clerics in Iwoland and the generality of Muslims by fostering peaceful coexistence among the Muslims and developments of Mosque within the three Local Government Areas.
“The plaintiff avers that the 1st Defendant was appointed as the Oluwo of Iwo sometimes in the year 2015 and because of his love for Iwo town, he gave the 1st Defendant his support both morally and financially towards his post-coronation as the Oluwo of Iwo.
“The plaintiff further avers that he stood by the 1st Defendant throughout his trial during his problem with the Oluwo-Oke of Iwo-Oke which culminated in a quasi-criminal charge brought against him by the Oluwo-Oke of Iwo-Oke.
“The plaintiff avers that, however, the 1st Defendant has beeb behaving strangely after an honest advice rendered to him by the plaintif not to extort money from several persons jostling for chieftaincy titles but from those he would confer with such chieftaincy titles.
“The plaintiff further asserted that the piece of advice given to 1st Defendant didn’t go down well with him as he (1st Defendant) subsequently and purportedly announced that he had been stripped and/or removed from all the chieftaincy titles in Iwoland including Bashorun Musulumi of Iwoland.
“The plaintiff avers that the 1st defendant has no power to remove and/ or strip him as the Basorun of Musulumi of Iwoland as he was not the one who installed him as such and Bashorun Musulumi of Iwoland is not a traditional title.
“The plaintiff further avers that the 1st Defendant has also been putting pressure on the 2th Defendant to remove him as Basorun Musulumi of Iwoland otherwise, he too (the 2nd Defendant) would be removed as the Chief Imam of Iwo.
“The plaintiff further avers that since the purported announcement of his removal by the 1st Defendant, the 1st Defendant, has through his armed thugs prevented the Plaintiff from worshipping at the Central Mosque, Iwo.
“The plaintiff further avers that his life has been continuously threatened by the 1st Defendant and his armed thugs.
“The plaintiff further avers that the 1st Defendant is now planning to install and/or turban anothe person as Basorun Musulumi of Iwoland on the 12th day of May, 2017.
“The plaintiff further avers that if the 1st Defendant is allowed to carry out the proposed installatiion of another person as the Bashorun Musulumi of Iwoland, there may be breach of peace within Iwoland since he has not been lawfully and/or legally stripped of the said chieftaincy title by the appointed authority”.
Praying court to restrain the 1st Defendant from the purported act, the Plaintiff urged the court to declare that Basorun Musulumi of Iwoland is an islamic religious title bestowed on worthy Muslim from Iwoland (consisting of three Local Governments of Iwo, Ayedire and Ola-Oluwa) by the islamic clerics from the said three LGs.
“Declaration that the Plaintiff is the incumbent Basorun Musulumi of Iwoland having been installed and/or turbaned as such by the Islamic clerics from the trhree Local Governments comprising Iwoland since the year 2000.
“Declaration that the 1st Defendant has no power to remove and/or strip the plaintiff as Basorun Musulumi of Iwoland having not been the person who appointed, installed and/or turbaned him and the said chieftaincy not being a traditional chieftaincy in which the 1st defendant is the prescribed authority.
“Declaration that the 2nd Defendant cannot songlehandedly remove and/or strip the Plaintiff as the Basorun Musulumi of Iwoland without the consent and/or authority of other islamic clerics from other towns in the said three Local Governments comprising Iwoland.
The plaintiff therefore sought the court order restraining the 1st and 2nd Defendants, their servants, agents, and/or prives from appointing, installing and/or turbaning any other person as Basorun Musulumi of Iwoland.
