COURT ADJOURNS ONIKOYI CHIEFTAINCY DISPUTE TO JANUARY 19, 2026
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
A Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja has adjourned the hearing of the Onikoyi Chieftaincy dispute to January 19, 2026, following Thursday’s proceedings before Justice O. A. Oresanya.
The suit was instituted by members of the Onikoyi Royal Family, who are challenging the appointment and installation of Prince Kunle Fafunwa as the Oba Onikoyi of Ikoyi and Moba Land.
During Thursday’s sitting, the case came up for mention, with the court also expected to hear several pending applications.
The claimants were represented by P. O. Lasisi, SAN, and former Lagos State Attorney-General, Adeniji Kazeem, SAN, while Wale Adesokan, SAN, appeared for the 4th defendant, Prince Kunle Fafunwa.
The courtroom and its environs were filled with members of the Onikoyi family and community residents who arrived in large numbers to show solidarity with the claimants.
The claimants, Otunba Abdul Ganiyi Kolawole Onikoyi, Prince Akinola Oyeniyi Fafunwa, Prince Abdul Waliu Omogbolahan Sulaimon, Chief Hassan Kehinde Elegushi, Alhaji Musiliu Abidemi Onikoyi, Alhaja Wosilat Quadri, Mrs. Adeola Davies, Prince Babatunde Onikoyi, Prince Babatunde Shadeko, and Alhaji Ashraf Akinyemi Esinlokun filed the suit on behalf of the Onikoyi Chieftaincy Family.
The defendants in the case include the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Lagos State, the Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Rural Development, the Eti-Osa Local Government, and Prince Kunle Fafunwa.
Through their counsel, Ademola Ekundayo of Hill City Associates, the claimants are seeking declaratory and injunctive reliefs, arguing that the selection, approval, and installation of Prince Fafunwa were illegal, null, and void.
They allege that the process contravened the provisions of the Onikoyi Chieftaincy Declaration of 2006 and the Obas and Chiefs Law of Lagos State, which regulate succession to the throne.
Specifically, they are asking the court to nullify the selection and installation of Prince Fafunwa and to restrain him from parading himself as the Oba Onikoyi of Ikoyi and Moba Land. They also want the court to direct the state government to confirm and install Prince Abdul Waliu Omogbolahan Sulaimon, the 3rd claimant, as the rightful Oba.
According to the claimants, the Onikoyi Royal Family has a single ruling house, the Muti Ruling House, comprising ten branches: Fafunwa, Ojubiari, Kubayije, Ilumo, Idewu, Kugbamola, Aluko Ajose, Dosunmu Ajiwe, Adelo, and Dosunmu.
They insist that, based on the 2006 Chieftaincy Declaration, it is the turn of the Ojubiari branch to produce the next Oba, following the demise of the late Oba Patrick Ibikunle Fafunwa of the Fafunwa branch.
The claimants allege that the appointment of Prince Kunle Fafunwa, son of the late Oba, violates the established rotation system, family customs, and traditions.
They further claim that no valid family meeting or public notice preceded his selection, as required by law, and that their petitions to the state government and the Eti-Osa Local Government were ignored prompting them to seek legal redress.
At Thursday’s proceedings, counsel to the 4th defendant, Wale Adesokan, SAN, informed the court of a Motion on Notice seeking to set aside the service of the writ of summons on the ground that his client was not personally served.
Justice Oresanya subsequently adjourned the case to January 19, 2026, for further mention and hearing of the pending applications.
The dispute, which has drawn widespread attention within Lagos’ traditional institution, is expected to test the interpretation of the 2006 Onikoyi Chieftaincy Declaration and the customary rotation principle governing succession among the branches of the Onikoyi Royal Family.
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