The Lagos High Court sitting in Ikorodu has, for the second time, upheld the selection and subsequent emergence of Oba Kabiru Adewale Shotobi as the Ayangbure of Ikorodu, as it dismissed an application seeking to stop him from parading himself as the substantive ruler of Ikorodu kingdom.
In a ruling delivered on Monday, January 9, 2017, Hon. Williams O.A while delivering her ruling on an application for injunction filed by Prince Tajudeen Odofin, who was the main applicant in the suit, with two other princes, held that the principles of ‘res judicata’ are against the claims of the applicant, in the matter.
She states that the prayers sought by the applicants from the court have already been determined and answered in an earlier suit in which her learned brother, Justice Akintude Savage delivered judgement in May 2015.
Justice Williams listed all the issues determined in the earlier judgment by Justice Savage two years ago and also re-emphasized that the applicants had lost the right to oppose Oba Shotobi’s emergency since they contested for selection for the coveted throne with him and did not raise objection over his candidacy.
She however held that there was no basis for the court to grant fresh orders in a matter that has already been determined by a court and thereby dismissed the case.
Earlier, counsel to the Lagos state government, Mr Saheed Quadri had informed the court of his two applications dated November 30, 2016 and prayed the court to allow him to move the applications before ruling is delivered in the matter.
Quadri said one of the applications seeks the order of the court for the state government to be joined as a respondent in the matter while the other one seeks the order of the court to enable them respond to the claims of the claimants and file their counter affidavit.
But the trial judge insisted that the day had been set aside for delivery of ruling in the matter.
Quadri however withdrew the two applications after the court had delivered its ruling in the matter.
Meanwhile, Fabunmi O, the counsel to Oba Shotobi, in a brief interview with reporters after the ruling, applauded Justice Williams on the ruling, saying that she had done what a judge is expected to do in such matter.
He argued that the applicants shouldn’t have brought back the matter since it has been ruled upon by Justice Savage and equally described the action of the applicants as an abuse of the court process.
Fabunmi also described the ruling by Justice Williams as an indication of the independence of the judiciary.
Also, the Director of Civil Litigation in the Lagos State Ministry of Justice who represented the state government in the court, Mr. Quadri S.A. in his own reaction commended Justice Williams for dismissing the case on the basis of res judicata’.
He added that he sees no reason why Oba Shotobi’s emergence for the Ayangbure stool should be contentious since the state government followed and complied with necessary laws in approving his nomination for the Ayangbure stool.
The counsel to the litigant, Oguntade G.M.O, while also speaking briefly with the pressmen after the ruling said he accepted the ruling of the court even though his clients’ prayers were not granted.
On what the next line of action would be, he stated that he would meet with his client to consider other options available to them.
It would be recalled that the trio of Princes Tajudeen Odofin, Tayo Ladega and Gbolahan Onabanjo had recently filed an application for injunction before Justice Williams at the Ikorodu High Court to challenge Oba Shotobi’s appointment as Ayangbure of Ikorodu.
The claimants in the suit filed by their counsel, Mr. George Oguntade (SAN), were seeking an order of interlocutory injunction restraining Oba Shotobi from parading himself as the Ayangbure.
They also sought an order of interlocutory injunction restraining Oba Shotobi, the first respondent, from collecting royalties and salaries from the Lagos State Governor, and the Attorney-General as well as the Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs, who are the second, third and fourth respondents.
They also prayed for an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the second, third and fourth respondents from paying royalties and salaries to the Ayangbure.
The Lisa of Ikorodu, Chief Zaccheus Odusoga, the Apena of Ikorodu, Chief Kareem Ore, the Oponuwa of Ikorodu, Chief Jacob Adaraloye and Solomade of Ikorodu, Chief Afolabi Adekayaoja are the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth respondents.
In his argument during the hearing of the application for an interlocutory injunction against Oba Shotobi and other respondents, Oguntade said an Odofin could not metamorphose into a king.
He said the matter before the court was not the 2007 consent judgement delivered by Justice Habib Abiru (now of the Court of Appeal) and the judgement of Justice Savage delivered two years ago in another suit but that “the issue is whether he (Oba Shotobi) is qualified to be king. It is an abomination for an “Odofin” and “Iwarefa” to become king when he has not relinquish the position of “Odofin”.
“The issue at hand is whether the first respondent, being an Iwarefa, a king maker, has a personal right in law, qualified to have contested for the Ayangburen obaship stool without first relinquishing the title of Odofin of Ikorodu,” he argued.
He added that the issue of whether a sitting Odofin can metamorphose into a king was also not determined in the 2007 consent judgement because it had not arisen at that time.
According to him, the issue of the first claimant and others giving undertaken not to contest the decision of the kingmakers cannot constitute a matter to contest the jurisdiction of the court.
The first respondent, he said, having filed a letter of intent to vie for the stool of Ayangburen cannot be a reason to contest the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the claimants’ application seeking to restrain him as Oba of Ikorodu.
Oguntade urged the court to dismiss the respondents’ objection for having failed to file their response to the claimants application within six months, pointing out that their response was filed outside the time frame stipulated by the law.
Earlier, counsel to the first, fifth to eighth defendants, Mr. O. Fabunmi urged the court to dismiss the claimants’ application for lack of jurisdiction and abuse of court process.
Asking for dismissal of the application, he said the claimants had no moral obligation to institute the action since the first respondents, like other candidates, wrote a letter of intent to contest the stool.
Responding to a question by the court, Fabunmi admitted that Oba Shotobi was a kingmaker before his installation but stressed that there was no law that says that a king- maker cannot contest the position of Ayangbure.
According to him, before the selection was made, all the 25 candidates that vied for the stool of Ayangbure agreed to accept the decision of the kingmakers. This, he said, explained why no other person filed any action in court against the emergence of Oba Shotobi.
He said, nothing was said in the claimants’ application about the letter of intent written by Oba Shotobi to contest the stool. “The issue of kingmaker was raised in the originating motion before Justice Savage. But he held that he can vie and contest in his judgement”, he said.
Answering another question, Fabunmi said the issue raised in the originating motion decided by Justice Savage was not to uphold an earlier consent judgement of the court on whether the first respondent, (third respondent in the suit before Justice Savage) is not bound and “estopped” from being presented and selected from any future chieftaincy title.
He insisted that since Odofin participated in the selection of Oba Shotobi, the only avenue open to him is to appeal the decision of Justice Savage and not to file a new application.
Among those who attended the court sitting were Chief Zacchaeus Odusoga, Lisa of Ikorodu, Chief Jacob Adaraloye Oponuwa of Ikorodu, Chief Afolabi Adekayaoja, Solomade of Ikorodu, Prince Tajudeen Odofin, Barrister Gbenga Hassan, Imam Abiodun, Chief Kameel Dada, Regun of Ikorodu as well as some members of the Lambo – Lasunwon royal house led by their head, Chief Mathew Shodipo.