The Onibeju of Ibeju, Oba Waliu Olasunkanmi Rasak has faulted the restraining order placed on him by a Lagos High Court from parading himself as the dully installed paramount ruler of Ibeju Kingdom.
This followed the successful grant of an order of mandatory injunction secured by one of the co-aspirants to the Onibeju throne, Prince Adewale Adeyemi Abdul Rauf from the High Court of Lagos on the 12th December 2023.
The injunction directed the Governor of Lagos State and two of his cabinet members, the Hon. Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice and Hon. Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to reverse the installation of the Onibeju, HRM Oba Waliu Olasunkanmi Rasak pending the determination of the substantive suit initiated by Prince Adewale Adeyemi Abdul Rauf.
The claimant in Suit No: LD/9297GCMW/2022 had dragged the Governor of Lagos State and 21 others including Oba Waliu Olasunkanmi Rasak before the High Court of Lagos State, sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos via a writ of Summons and Statement of Claim filed on the 27th of October, 2022 praying the Court for a mandatory injunction for the reversal of the installation of the Lagos monarch on the ground that the installation was carried out on the 3rd of November, 2022, two days after the Governor and his commissioners had been served with the court processes.
Oba Waliu Olasunkanmi Rasak has since filed his appeal against the injunction at the Court of Appeal in Lagos. In his Appeal, the Onibeju averred that he had already been appointed and installed as the paramount ruler of Ibeju Kingdom by the state government after successfully passing through the selection and installation process two weeks before the injunction was granted by the High Court.
The Onibeju argued that it amounts to a miscarriage of justice when the lower court failed to properly evaluate the affidavit and exhibit before granting the order.
With the court order, the Onibeju throne by implication remains vacant until after the determination of the Appeal and the substantive suit.
Speaking on the socio-economic and cultural implication, a co-aspirant to the Onibeju throne who incidentally is now the Olu of Araromi Eleranigbe, Oba Hameed Ajijola remarked that the Onibeju throne remains central and strategic to the survival of the Ibeju region in the state.
He, therefore, appeal to all the parties to sheathe their swords and embrace peace for the common interest of the Ibeju region which he reasoned should be paramount above personal interest
