A Lagos High Court has halted the installation of a new Oba of Iworo Kingdom, ruling that only the Iga Igbaji Ruling House can lawfully present a candidate
A Lagos State High Court sitting in Badagry has stopped all moves to install a new Oba of Iworo Kingdom, ruling that only the Iga Igbaji Ruling House has the lawful right to present a candidate for the vacant throne.
Justice O. A. Adamson delivered the judgment on February 2, 2026, declaring that any approval or installation carried out outside this framework would be unlawful and contrary to existing chieftaincy law.
The ruling followed a long running chieftaincy dispute instituted by Prince Karim Babatunde Adedeji, who sued on behalf of the Iga Igbaji Ruling House.
The suit, marked BD/3665GCMW/2017, named the Lagos State Governor, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, the Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs, Olorunda LCDA and members of the royal family as defendants.
In arriving at its decision, the court relied on the Iworo Chieftaincy Declaration registered on February 8, 1958, holding that it is the exclusive turn of the Iga Igbaji Ruling House to produce the next Oba of Iworo.
The court ruled that no other ruling house or individual has the authority to present a candidate for the stool at this time.
Despite affirming the rights of the ruling house, the court refused to recognise any individual as Oba-elect. Justice Adamson held that the nomination process presented before the court did not fully comply with Iworo customary law, citing the absence of evidence that the candidate was properly endorsed by the princes and princesses of the ruling houses as required by tradition.
As a result, all reliefs seeking automatic approval or installation of a proposed monarch were declined.
In a decisive declaration, the court ruled that the 5th defendant was not validly nominated under Iworo customary law and is therefore not entitled to be approved, appointed or installed as Oba of Iworo Kingdom.
The judgment effectively nullifies any steps already taken towards installing the said individual and bars further action until due process is followed.
The court stressed that government authorities cannot override established chieftaincy declarations or customary procedures.
Although a perpetual injunction was refused, the ruling makes it clear that the Iworo throne remains vacant until the Iga Igbaji Ruling House properly completes its nomination process in line with tradition and law.
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
