Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports
The Dero Ruling House of Ore, Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State, under the family head, Mrs. Florence Elizeri has described the alleged nomination of one Monday Sawoju as the next Olore of Ore, as illegal.
The family in a petition by its counsel, Tope Tomekun to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu said the action allegedly being spearheaded by the council boss, Margret Akinsuroju despite a court order may throw the community into a state of chaos.
According to the family, Justice S. Olorundahunsi of an Ondo High Court sitting in Ore on February 7, 2020, ruled that the Akintimehin ruling house where Sawoju came from is not entitled to present or nominate a candidate to fill the vacant stool of Oloore of Ore, having produced the last and the late Oba Adebayo Temikotan.
The petition read, “We are the Solicitors to the DERO RULING HOUSE of Ore, Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State, under the family head, Mrs. Florence Elizeri (hereinafter referred to as “Our Client”) on whose behalf we write this letter.
“We write this petition, on the brief and on behalf of Our Client, on the heels of a shocking public announcement made on Saturday, the 6th of August 2022 by the Prince Enoch Olatomide, the head of the Akintimehin family of Ore, announcing on the radio (Adaba FM) and other media the illegal nomination of one Monday Sawoju for the Olore stool, subject of appeal in the Court of Appeal, Akure.”
The petition alleged that Akinsuroju, without the contribution of kingmakers in Ore, wants to “foist on the Court, the Ore community and the government of Ondo State, Monday Sawoju, her anointed candidate before the hearing of the appeal on the stool coming up on the 17th of October 2022, before the Court of Appeal and before the approval of the Executive Council of Ondo State, thereby circumventing the due process of law in the process of appointment of the new Olore of Ore”.
“We wish to reaffirm sir, in addition to already known facts, that the judgment of the High Court of Ore sitting in Ondo delivered by Hon. Justice S. Olorundahunsi, on the 7th day of February 2020, hereto-attached, declared on page 46 thereof in categorical and unequivocal terms as follows: ‘…the Akintimehin ruling house is not entitled to present or nominate a candidate to fill the vacant stool of Oloore of Ore, the ruling house having produced the last and the late Oba Adebayo Temikotan from the Akintimehin ruling house….’
“The judgment on page 45 thereof, says: “…it is the turn of the Claimant family i.e. the Dero ruling house of Ore Odigbo to nominate and present candidate to fill the stool of Olore of Ore after the demise of Oba Adebayo Temikotan who was from the 1st to 3rd Defendants family i.e. Akintimehin ruling house/family of Ore/Odigbo…”
“Whoever seeks equity must do equity, so they say. Our Client won their case to reclaim the stool at the High Court. The Court expressly asked them to nominate and present a candidate to occupy the stool. The Akintimehin family sought equity before the court by appealing the judgment and applying for a stay of execution of the judgment. Our Clients suspended their process of nomination and presentation of their candidate, for the Court to pronounce on the appeal.
“The Akintimehin family who lost at the High Court and were asked to vacate the stool even in the lifetime of the late Olore of Ore, Oba Johnson Olatomide(deceased) from Akintimehin family, but who ran to the Court of Appeal are the ones now, in a manner that smack of inequity and ridicule to the same court that gave them temporary protection, who are dragging the court to ridicule by going to the media to announce the illegal nomination of a candidate for the stool.
“While we have all confidence that the government of Ondo State will not condone this illegality and lawlessness, the frantic efforts from the office of the chairman of Odigbo Local Government, Mrs Margret Akinsuroju, to scuttle the due process of the court and throw Ore community into a state of chaos throws up mixed feelings and concerns and if not called to order, this has the capacity to cast huge haze on the good intentions, the motive and the neutral position of the government in this matter.
“We call on the government of Ondo State to rise up to arrest this new fashion trend of brazen illegality of making nomination and self-declaration as an “Oba” without waiting for the approval of the government through the Executive Council, as just perpetrated by the head of Akintimehin family, Prince Enoch Olatomide and the illegally nominated Monday Sawoju and some other lawlessly desperate individuals amongst whom is Mrs Margaret Akinsuroju, the chairman of Odigbo Local Government…” it read.
The petition said the issue is an “act capable of causing the breach of peace in Ore community and this also constitutes a crime under the Chiefs Law of Ondo State, via the provisions of SECTION 15, subsection 1, of Chiefs Law of Ondo State, which states that where a vacancy has occurred in a recognized chieftaincy and no person has been approved as successor thereto by the Executive Council, any person who installs or purports to install a person as such chief or any person who holds himself out as such chief or presents himself to be installed as such chief commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction of imprisonment for three years”.
“Ore community is sitting on a time bomb now, waiting to explode if this ugly situation is not arrested with speed. Our clients shall remain law-abiding even in the face of this provocation!!!”
