The Court of Appeal sitting at Akure, the Ondo State capital, has sacked Oba Babajide Lawrence Oluwole, the late Olu-Oke of Okeigbo in Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo local government area of the state.

In the lead judgment delivered late on Thursday by Hon. Justice M.L. Hassan with Hon. Justice P.O. Affen and Hon. Justice P.C. Obiorah concurring, the appellate court dismissed Appeal N0. CA/AK/97/2023 for lacking in merit.

Earlier, the trial Court presided by Justice Ademola Enikuemehin had deposed Oluwole as Oluoke of Okeigbo for not being a member of the Aare Kugbaigbe Ruling House, whose turn is to produce the traditional ruler of the community.

Enikuomehin, in his judgment, had on April 13, 2023, upheld the case of the claimants and ordered the removal of Oba Oluwole as the Olu-Oke of Oke-Igbo.

The suit marked HOD/80/2018, which had Oba Oluwole, the Oke-Igbo traditional kingmakers, and the state government as defendants, challenged the appointment of Oba Oluwole, claiming he is not a member of the Aare Kugbaigbe, which is to present a candidate to the throne, which they said they claimed is still vacant.

The Ondo State Government had approved the appointment of Oba Babajide Lawrence Oluwole as the Olu-Oke of Oke-Igbo in 2018, succeeding Oba Timothy Fasawe.

However, Aare Kugbaigbe Ruling House, through their counsel, challenged the appointment because Oba Oluwole belonged to the Bamgbala Family, which is not part of Aare Kugbaigbe and was not nominated by the Ruling House.

The Claimants further contended that the new Traditional Ruling Quarter system through which Babajide was appointed, which sought to extend eligibility to the throne to several indeterminate families, is alien to the customary law of the community, which recognises only the five Ruling Houses constituted by the descendants of the five founders of the Community and has produced the 16 Rulers of the community.

Displeased by the verdict of the trial court, the defendants through their counsel, Olalekan Ojo SAN and amended on the 30th May 2025 on 12 grounds Oba Babajide Lawrence prayed that the judgment of the lower court be set aside among other grounds because by the decision of the Executive Council the previous customary law as contained in the White Paper on the report of Justice Adeloye Commission of Inquiry no longer regulated appointment to the chieftaincy and that the judgment delivered more than 3 months was not valid.

In the lead judgment delivered by Hon. Justice M.L. Hassan with Hon. Justice P.O. Affen and Hon. Justice P.C. Obiorah concurring, the Court dismissed Appeal N0: CA/AK/97/2023 for lacking in merit.

Meanwhile, the Ondo State Government has approved the appointment of Oba Akintoye Felix Adeoye, a lawyer and former President of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) from the Are Kugbaigbe Ruling House, as the new Olu-Oke of Oke-Igbo.

Speaking to journalists on the telephone, the lead Counsel to the new Oba, Chief Sola Ebiseni, said the judgment is an affirmation of the customary law of the Olu-Oke of Oke-Igbo chieftaincy, as earlier found by His Lordship, Justice Enikuomehin, and that it will further unite the ancient town.