COURT ADJOURNS ONIKOYI CHIEFTAINCY DISPUTE SUIT TO JANUARY 19, 2026
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
Justice O. A. Oresanya of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja has adjourned till January 19, 2026, the hearing of a suit filed by members of the Onikoyi Royal Family challenging the appointment and installation of Prince Kunle Fafunwa as the Oba Onikoyi of Ikoyi and Moba Land.
The matter was adjourned for further hearing and to address pending applications.
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 Royal Family.
They are represented by senior lawyers P. O. Lasisi (SAN) and former Lagos State Attorney-General, Adeniji Kazeem (SAN). Wale Adesokan (SAN) appeared for the fourth defendant.
A large number of family members and supporters from Ikoyi and Moba communities were present at the court to show solidarity.
The defendants in the suit are the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, the Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Rural Development, the Eti-Osa Local Government, and Prince Kunle Fafunwa.
In the suit filed by counsel Ademola Ekundayo, the claimants are seeking a declaration nullifying Fafunwa’s selection, approval, and installation, alleging that due process was not followed and that the appointment contravened the Onikoyi Chieftaincy Declaration of 2006 and the Lagos State Obas and Chiefs Law.
They also asked the court to restrain Prince Fafunwa from parading himself as Oba and to direct that Prince Abdul Waliu Omogbolahan Sulaimon, the third claimant, be recognised and installed as the legitimate Oba Onikoyi.
“It is the turn of the Ojubiari branch,” the claimants insist.
They argued that succession to the throne rotates among the ten branches of the sole ruling house, Muti Ruling House, and that following the death of the late Oba Patrick Ibikunle Fafunwa of the Fafunwa branch, the Ojubiari branch is next in line.
They alleged that the family did not nominate or consent to Prince Fafunwa’s appointment and that no valid family meeting or public notice preceded his installation.
After several unanswered petitions to Lagos State authorities, the family filed the suit to prevent what they described as an “illegal imposition.”
Counsel to Prince Fafunwa, Wale Adesokan (SAN), during Thursday’s proceedings, informed the court of a Motion on Notice seeking to set aside service of the Writ of Summons on grounds that the defendant was not personally served.
Justice Oresanya adjourned the matter to January 19, 2026, for further mention.
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