ADVERTISEMENT
His Excellency,
Arakunrin Odunayo Akeredolu, SAN,
The Executive Governor of Ondo State.
Your Excellency Sir,
PROTRACTED JEGUN OF IDEPE-OKITIPUPA CHIEFTAINCY TUSSLE AND THE NEWS OF PURPORTED PLAN OF PRINCE MICHAEL ADETOYE OBATUGA TO CELEBRATE 20 YEARS AS JEGUN OF IDEPE-OKITIPUPA IN FLAGRANT VIOLATION OF THE SUBSISTING JUDGMENTS OF THE HIGH COURT AND THE COURT OF APPEAL WHICH DEPOSED HIM-AN ATTEMPT TO CAUSE BREACH OF PUBLIC PEACE IN IDEPE-OKITIPUPA COMMUNITY
We are counsel to the concerned members of Idepe-Okitipupa Community represented by Chief Olowofoyekun Olajide (07062998876), Chief Enikanselu Olokungbemi (0816070095), Chief Akinnubi Dennis (08077680925), Chief Olomolatan Ajana (08068643088), Adekankun Ben, Gbolahan Olawole (08039440288), Chief Ikugbamade Akinmusire (08069095264), Deji Ayekuseyin (08037844443), Chief Akeremale Olawole (07037666617), Chief Olakunle Folarin, Chief Meduoye Clement (07088886897), and Chief Okunuga Ayo (08138581338). They are herein referred to as āour clientsā and it is on their firm and unequivocal instruction that this letter is written for your urgent attention.
Our brief is to alert your Excellency, with the fact that, contrary to the subsisting judgments of both the trial court in Suit No HOK/49/2003 and the subsequent appeal in Appeal No CA/B/146/2006 which deposed Prince Michael Adetoye Obatuga and affirmed the deposition respectively, there is at present, an attempt by some overzealous elements in Idepe-Okitipupa community led by Prince Adetoye Michael Obatuga to cause breach of peace in the community with the news to celebrate what they termed as 20 years of Prince Adetoye Michael Obatuga as Jegun of Idepe-Okitipupa.
Prince Adetoye Obatuga was deposed and removed as the Jegun of Idepe-Okitipupa by the judgment of His Lordship W.A.Akintoroye of the High Court sitting at Okitipupa on the 14th day of December, 2005. The relevant portion of the judgment is herewith attached as Annexure A. In the judgment, the said Prince Obatuga was further restrained from parading and holding himself out as the Jegun of Idepe-Okitipupa.
Prince Adetoye Obatugaās subsequent application to the court for Stay of Execution of the Judgment removing him was also dismissed by the Ruling of the Court on the 27th day of April, 2006 with cost awarded against him. Attached herewith as Annexure B is the relevant portion of the Ruling of the court). Prince Michael Adetoye Obatugaās appeal against the judgment of the court removing him to the Court of Appeal was also dismissed with cost awarded against him. The judgment of the Court of Appeal is attached herewith as Annexure C
In spite of his appeal to the Supreme Court, it needs be noted that the purport of the two extant superior courtsā judgments is that the Idepe-Okitipupaās throne is vacant! This is in tandem with the law and custom.
It is however, surprising that in spite of this firm and patent position of the courtsā judgments which removed him and his failure to secure a stay of the judgment, Prince Adetoye Obatuga continues to act with impunity by holding and parading himself as an Oba in Idepe Okitipupa. We maintain that it is quite clear in law that any appeal by him to the Supreme Court cannot in any way operate as a stay of the two previous judgments as there was even nothing to stay by him in the first place. The throne is therefore in law and fact vacant!!
We make bold to say that the manner at which Prince Adetoye Obatuga continues to hold himself out as an Oba or even as Jegun of Idepe-Okitipupa is criminal and those supporting him are co-conspirators against the Chiefs Law of Ondo State. Such support and purported recognition by any persons, group of persons, authority, or government agency is not only unlawful but an affront to the law and course of justice.
It is of interest to note that due to the protracted chieftaincy tussle, the then Agagu-led Ondo State government set up a 12-man committee drawn from the community for the purpose of security and traditional administration while the ancestral traditional Shrine (Ogwa) was locked until the recent tripartite agreement to re-open same for the purpose of clearing the bushes within and it has since been locked.
The attempt by Prince Adetoye Obatuga and his cohorts to celebrate 20 years on the āthroneā as Jegun of Idepe-Okitipupa is therefore another sheer impunity and brazen disregard for the law of the land in a civilised society and this is punishable. This is because he could not be heard to be celebrating 20 years on the throne of Jegun of Idepe-Okitipupa which has been held by our courts to be vacant. His flagrant pomp therefore calls for caution, investigation and prosecution if he is found culpable.
Your Excellency sir, it should be noted that the traditional committee set up by the Government to man the traditional affairs of the Idepe-Okitipupa community subsists. Any attempt by Prince Obatuga and his stooges to derogate this arrangement to mark 20 years as Jegun of Idepe-Okitipupa is an invitation to serious crises and should not be tolerated.
We therefore urge your Excellency to take a decisive action to forestall the breach of public peace that Prince Michael Adetoye Obatuga and his cronies attempt to foist on the Idepe Okitipupa community. We also have our clientsā brief that Prince Michael Adetoye Obatuga should be investigated for his continuous statutory offences relating to Chieftaincy under our law which may lead to breakdown of Law and Order.
Thanking you in anticipation of your urgent intervention.
Yours faithfully,
Kehinde K. Aladedutire Esq.
CC:
His Excellency,
Hon. Orimisan Aiyedatiwa.
The Deputy Governor of Ondo State.
Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice
Ministry of Justice
Akure, Ondo State.
The Commissioner,
Ministry of Local of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs,
Akure,
Ondo State
Chief Adetunji Adeleye,
The Commander of the State SecurityĀ Network (Amotekun Corps
And Special AdviserĀ to the Governor on SecurityĀ Matters
Ondo State.
The Chairman,
Okitipupa Local Government
Okitipupa
Ondo State.
Peoplesmind
