A human rights organisation, the Center for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ), has petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Muhammed Tanko, and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mallam Abubakar Malami (SAN), over the non-implementation of the September 1st, 1995 Supreme Court judgment on Ora-Igbomina Obaship tussle.

The group is calling on the Federal Government to take appropriate action on the implementation of the Supreme Court Judgment in Osun State in order to avoid laying bad precedent in the nation’s legal jurisprudence.

According to the petition, Justice Abubakar Wali gave the lead judgment of the apex court on the chieftaincy matter where it declared that Akesin should not be recognised as Oba nor wear beaded crown under the Chiefs Law of Osun State, 1995.

It noted that the Supreme Court also awarded cost of N1,000 against “Akesin Ora” for wasting its precious time by bringing a frivolous application before the apex court of the land and that “Akesin” was yet to obey the order of the Supreme Court which was tantamount to the contempt of the court.

The group insisted that the current bearer of “Akesin”, Mr. Samuel Idowu Oladoye, was not known to any law of the land as monarch because he was just an impostor and lawbreaker as ruled by the Supreme Court of Nigeria on September 1, 1995.

The petition, dated February 8, 2020, and signed by CHRSJ Executive Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman, was forwarded to the President Buhari, CJN and AGF and copies were made available to newsmen on Thursday February 27, calling for urgent intervention of the appropriate authorities on the matter.

Part of the petition reads: “Shortly before the handing over of power to the civilian government in 1979 in Oyo State (now Osun State), the then Military Governor, Col. Paul Tarfa, discretionally granted wearing of beaded crown to Isaiah Olanipekun as Akesin of Ora, making him another Oba when in actual fact, a full-time fledged and crowned Oba, Asaoni of Ora was in place. The situation then led to riot and unrest in the ancient town.

“On the arrival of late Chief Bola Ige’s Government, a Judicial Commission of Inquiry headed by Late Justice V.O.A. Aboderin was set up to investigate into matter. The report of the inquiry was made known to the public declaring the wearing of beaded crown by the Akesin of Ora as illegal and negated the old traditional norms.

“Akesin challenged the then Oyo (Osun) State Government in the High Court. The matter went to Ibadan Court of Appeal and ultimately ended in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court delivered its judgment in favour of Asaoni on the 1st day of September 1995, thereby upholding the Report of Aboderin Judicial Commission of Inquiry which declared Asaoni as the only recognised and beaded crown Oba of Ora-Igbomina kingdom.”

The petition further reads: “The Constitution is Supreme, not only when another law seeks to compete with it in an area already covered by the Constitution. The Governor of Osun State or any Government at all is not given power to do a thing or act that is inconsistent with and violently in contradiction to the express words of the Constitution.

“The law is settled that the parties as well as the Court are bound by the provision of the Constitution. The law is that when an act is void, it is void altogether and nothing can be placed on it. Thus, the continuous stay of the deposed ‘Akesin of Ora-Igbomina’ as he then was, is not only an affront against the Supremacy of the Supreme Court itself for almost 25 years no but also against Section 235 & 287 of 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).”

CHRSJ restated that the development has stemmed and assumed a monstrous propensity to the tide of progress, peace, growth and development of Ora-Igbomina kingdom.

“It is our belief that the law of might cannot overrule the rule of law. We have reached a point where we need to call a spade a spade by standing up for what is right even if we are standing alone as postulated by late Social crusader, Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN). We would not allow any person or group of individuals to bring our society back to the dark days of military tyranny where the judiciary was nothing but a mere organ of Government,” the group submitted

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