10th June,2020
His Excellency, Prince Dapo Abiodun OON
The Executive Governor of Ogun State, Governor’s office, Oke-mosan, Abeokuta.
Your Excellency,
Re: Suit No: AB /253 /2019
Prince Adesola Asade & 2 Ors vs. Governor of Ogun State & Ors
In Respect of the Vacant Stool of Onipokia of Ipokia
We congratulate Your Excellency on the giant strides and milestones being achieved by this administration in several spheres of governance as well as your handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We collectively write you as the four royal families of IWAYE DODO BIOKE ruling house which are ASADE, ADEKANBI, OTENI AND OKELEYE as a follow-up letter to our earlier letter to you dated 22nd April, 2020 and attached as Annexure AA1.
Your Excellency, as we feared, we have come across a letter dated 30th March, 2020 issued by the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy affairs on purported legal advice/recommendations by the Ministry of justice that retracts its earlier nullification order over the stool of Ipokia issued on 10th may, 2019. and directed that the botched selection process proceed to the installation of the 11th Defendant: Yisa Olaniyan as the Onipokia of Ipokia despite the subsistence of Hon. Justice Ogunfowora’s ruling that the stool of Onipokia of Ipokia remains vacant until final determination of the substantive suit challenging the selection process. The letter from the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy affairs is attached as Annexure AA2.
We have also come across a letter consequently issued by the 4th Defendant in the above subject matter: Ipokia Local Government acknowledging receipt of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs stating its readiness for the installation/coronation of the new Onipokia of Ipokia. The letter is dated 9th June, 2020 and attached as Annexure AA3.
It is worthy to note that the dispute over the stool of Onipokia of Ipokia is still pending before the High Court of Ogun State and unresolved till date due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has kept the Court from proceeding with the matter. In light of the eased restrictions on lockdown, the Court is slated to continue hearing of the matter on 30th June, 2020.
The major players in this Russian roulette targeted at your administration are only interested in using your administration to achieve their selfish ends without regards for the rule of law and due process which your administration is known for. The 2nd Defendant Attorney-General of Ogun State heads the Ministry of Justice and is duly representing your government and the Ministry of Justice in this matter in Court by Lawyer A.O Lawal Mrs as lead cancel. Also, the 3rd Defendant- Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters as well as the 4th Defendant- Chairman, Ipokia Local Government are duly represented in Court and fully aware of the stance of the Court on the vacancy of the Onipokia of Ipokia stool as well as the pendency of the matter and the futility of committing contempt against the Court.
We are therefore surprised that not only did the 2nd Defendant, Attorney-General who represents Your Excellency and the Ministry of Justice in a case of interest to the general public and under his stewardship allowed a legal advice to be written by its officer: Barrister Akinside, the Director of Civil Litigation knowing fully well the implications of interfering with a pending case before the Court as officers of the law.
In the same vein, we are taken aback that the 3rd and 4th Defendants in the case, the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and Chairman, Ipokia Local Government respectively as well as the Attonery-General of Og7n State in the Ministry of Justice believes that they can overrule the Court and sit as the Appeal Court to stay the proceedings of the High Court of Abeokuta and overrule a ruling declaring the Onipokia stool as vacant while the matter is still pending before the Court by relying on a legal advice issued under the eyes of your appointed legal officer to truncate the rule of law and due process.
Your Excellency, we totally believe that you are not complicit in this concocted scheme to overrule and stay the proceedings of the High Court over this matter to achieve the sinister end of installing the 11th Defendant- Yisa Olaniyan as the Onipokia of Ipokia without passing through any valid process of nomination. Despite our believe, it is essential for Your Excellency to restate your commitment to the rule of law and due process by publicly demonstrating this and calling your officers to order and effectively rescind their orders/decisions to revert to the status quo as at the time the action over the Onipokia of Ipokia as instituted lest the voting public construe Your Excellency as a puppet willing to be used and available at the beck and call of the 5th-11th Defendants, the Kingmakers of Ipokia and the imposter Yisa Olaniyan.
We use this opportunity to restate that Yisa Olaniyan is not indigenous to Anago kingdom not in anyway related to any of the four ruling houses whose there descendants are entitled to the throne of Onipokia. Any attempt by his power brokers who are not indegenes of Ipokia, the 3rd-10th Defendants in connivance with some government officials to foist and install Yisa Olaniyan as Onipokia will amount to an illegality capable of breaching public peace, order, serious crisis, unrest and pandemonium which has never happened in the history of Ipokia under any government. We have restated this severally to the usurpers to no avail and had to approach the Court to uphold justice for the royal house which is next-in-line of succession to the Onipokia stool. We have written several letters in respect of this case to your good offices several times and attached are copies of this letter.
We have believe in Your Excellency as a law abiding Governor that always upheld to rule of law without fear or favour that may soil its pure garment and ask you to shun any advances or pressure to right the wrongs being committed by the 3rd-11th Defendants, their major architects and allies in and within your administration who would rather prefer anarchy than justice to install their choice candidate against the wishes of the ruling house when the same matter is still pending before the Court.
The 2nd-11th Defendants are endlessly disregarding the Court due to its inability to sit due to the COVID-19 pandemic and moving at lightning pace to achieve their sinister goals to the annoyance of the Claimants and peace-loving citizens of Ipokia. More so, the Defendants and their allies in your administration have been misrepresenting facts and misdirecting Your Excellency on the true state of things in a bid to have you hoodwinked and ramrodded into approving and appointing their choice candidate against the wish of the ruling house next in line of succession despite the existence of a lawsuit over the same.
We therefore ask Your Excellency to rise to the occasion and use your legal powers to uphold the rule of law which includes (respect for laws of Nigeria, Ogun state and the judiciary) as you swore to do in your oath of office and forestall further actions by the Defendants and their agents over the Onipokia of Ipokia stool pending the final determination of the case over the subject matter.
Yours faithfuly,
AGUDA OKELEYE RUTH
SECRETARY, IWAYE DODO BI OKE RULING HOUSE
Cc:
Speaker, Ogun State House of Assembly
Arthoney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ogun State
Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs
SSG, Ogun state
Chief of staff to Ogun state Governor
Commissioner of police, Ogun State Command
Director, DSS, Ogun State.
