The Oyomesi in Council, pivotal figures in Oyo town, have initiated legal proceedings to bar Governor Seyi Makinde from altering their composition amid the struggle to select the next Alaafin of Oyo.
The lawsuit, identified as HOY/38/2023, features five kingmakers who are seeking an injunction to prevent the governor and his agents from disrupting the selection process they duly conducted.
The claimants, consisting of the Bashorun of Oyo, High Chief Yusuf Layinka; Lagunna of Oyo, High Chief Wakeel Oyedepo; Akinniku of Oyo, High Chief Amusa Yusuf; Areago Bashorun, Chief Wahab Oyetunji; and the Alapo of Oyo, Chief Gbadebo Mufutau, explained that at a meeting on September 30, 2023, they unanimously selected Prince Lukuman Gbadegesin as the next Alaafin of Oyo to fill the vacant stool left since April last year.
The kingmakers are seeking court intervention to restrain Governor Makinde and his agents from nullifying the choice of Gbadegesin and from approving or recognizing any other candidate for the Alaafin position after a duly conducted process, in line with the native law, custom, and Chieftaincy Declaration of Alaafin of Oyo.
Additionally, the kingmakers want the court to prevent the governor and other defendants from removing them as Oyo kingmakers, dissolving the Oyomesi in Council, or appointing warrant chiefs to initiate a new process for filling the vacant Alaafin stool.
They are also seeking protection from harassment and disturbances in carrying out their traditional functions and responsibilities as kingmakers of Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy.
The lawsuit comes in the wake of the kingmakers being questioned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over bribery allegations related to the selection process for the next Alaafin.
