For the fourth consecutive time, Oba Kabir Shotobi has defeated those opponents desperately seeking to take over his throne as he won four court cases brought against him between 2015 and now as well as won the original contest with twenty four (24) other interested parties before Ikorodu kingmakers in December 2014.
Two years ago, exactly on May 22, 2015, His Majesty, Oba Shotobi, won his first court case brought by Prince Tajudeen Odofin and Lambo family, seeking his disqualification and his unsuitability to ascend the Ayangbure throne. Hon. Justice Savage dismissed the suit and ruled in favour of Oba Shotobi.
Not satisfied with the judgement of Justice Savage, Prince Tajudeen Odofn and two others filed another suit at a high court instead of going to the Court of Appeal to again challenge the choice and installation of Oba Shotobi as the traditional ruler of Ikorodu. The suit was heard by Hon. Justice Williams, who in a judgment on Monday January 9, 2017, dismissed the suit on the ground that it has earlier been decided.
Again, the Lambo family, which contested the Obaship at the traditional level before the kingmakers, filed yet another suit with Odusajo family. The High Court case, which was a double barreled suit, came before the same Justice Williams.
The Plaintiffs sought the court to declare vacant the Ayangbure stool and to prevail on Shotobi to stop parading himself as the Ayangbure of Ikorodu.
Almost three months since the January 9, 2017, judgement, the presiding judge, Justice Williams, on Friday, March 31, 2017, ruled against the applicants.
In her judgment on that Friday, she declared that it was not right for the applicants (the plaintiffs) to come to court with the same case that had been decided before by a court of competent jurisdiction. The court noted that rather than appeal, the claimants came up with a differently worded and packaged suit.
Justice Williams declared that the two suit lacked merit and also ruled that the principles of res judicata are against it.
The judge equally stated that both the claimants and defendant involved in the earlier suit were the same parties brought before her.
She also listed all the stages determined in the earlier judgment by Justice Savage on May 22, 2015 and concluded that the claimants had lost the right to contest the emergence of Shotobi as Oba of Ikorodu since they contested for the coveted throne and did not raise objection over Shotobi’s qualification and his candidacy, adding that they only asked for his resignation as Odofin of Ikorodu.
Mrs. Williams upheld that there was no need to grant fresh order on a matter that had earlier been determined by a competent court; hence, she dismissed the suit.
In the second case involving Prince Jamiu Olusola Alejo, Prince Durojaiye Ekundayo Alejo, Prince Nurudeen, Mrs. Monsurat Saliu, Alhaji Muftau Alejo and Prince Tunde Odusajo, who are claimants to the throne from Odusajo arm of the royal family, through their counsel, E.M Seidu, had argued in the court that there are four royal families from the Lasuwon ruling house and that they belong to that ruling house, which consists of Adegorushe, Lambo and Araba and that they were excluded by the kingmakers from the December 2014 traditional selection process, adding that they ought to have been among the royal families to be screened. In other words, the claimants said they were prevented from presenting candidates to vie for the Obaship throne; hence, they were not represented among the twenty four (24) contestants that eventually emerged.
Therefore, they argued that they were not part of the process that produced Shotobi as the Oba of Ikorodu; hence, they prayed the court to order Shotobi to be restrained from parading himself as the Ayangbure of Ikorodu.
The first suit was brought by Mathew Adedayo Sodipo and others for themselves and the Lambo family as a branch of the Lasunwon royal family through their counsel, Mr. Oshigala.
The defendants in the two suits are Oba Shotobi, Chief Zacheus Odusoga (Olisa of Ikorodu), Chief Afolabi Adekayaoja (Solomade of Ikorodu), Chief Jacob Kolawole Aderaloye (Oponuwa of Ikorodu) and Chief Kareem Ore (Apena of Ikorodu).
Others joined in the suits as defendants include the Governor of Lagos State; Local Government Secretary; Ikorodu Chieftaincy Council; Council of Obas and Chiefs, Lagos State; Ministry of Chieftaincy Affairs, and Attorney General, Commission of Justice of the State. Mr. Fabunmi, who represented the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th defendants, urged the court to dismiss the suit for lack of merit/jurisdiction as well as for abuse of court process.
The counsel said that the claimants had no moral obligation to file that suit since all prayers and claims sought had earlier been ruled upon by a competent court, presided by Justice Savage.
Meanwhile, in her judgement, Mrs. Williams adopted an appeal court and high court rulings that there are only two royal families in Lasunwon Ruling house – Adegorushe and Lambo families as against four families the Odusajo family is claiming.
Justice Williams explained that since an appeal court and a high court had earlier ruled on this matter, the claimants ought not have re-presented the same matter.
The judge struck out the prayer to prevent Shotobi from parading himself as the Oba of Ikorodu since a court of competent jurisdiction had earlier ruled on that matter.
After the ruling, the two counsels for the defendants, Fabunmi and Quadri, asked Justice Williams and the court for N200,000 damages from the plaintiffs for wasting their time and resources as well as those of the court.
They argued that the same counsel, Oshigala, who had brought this suit to the earlier court, re-presented the matter to this honourable court.
Mr. Oshigala, in his defence, said he accepted the ruling of the court but said he never expected that the outcome of the suit would turn out this way.
Justice Williams, however, awarded the two counsels N150,000 and N50,000 costs respectively for time and resources wasted in defending these suits.
After the judgements, members of the Adegorushe family as well as the Oba’s staff and supporters went into jubilation as they threw banters, while members of the Lambo family were seen with their lawyers brooding over the outcome of the case as they discussed the next line of action to take.