Ogun: 75 Coronet Obas beg Gov. Abiodun to obey court judgement

The 75 Coronet Obas installed by former governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun have appealed to Governor Dapo Abiodun to obey court judgement reinstating them as Coronet Obas.

Speaking through their counsel, Barrister Olumide Oniyire, while addressing the media over the weekend explained that sometime in May 2019 under the past administration of Senator Ibikunle Amosun, appointed seventy five (75) Coronet wearing Obas for several towns and villages in Ogun State and an additional nine (9) Coronet wearing Obas  for additional towns and villages in Ogun State but the appointment was purportedly revoked by the present administration of Governor Dapo Abiodun, in February, 2020.

The legal luminary  said that the purported revocation of appointment as Coronets was challenged in the Ogun State High Court.

He added that a judgment of the Ogun State High Court of 30 November 2021, the Ogun state High Court reversed the purported revocation and ordered the government of Ogun State to pay all the entitlements and benefits of the appointed Coronets who challenged the purported revocation in court from May 2019 till date.

Barrister Oniyire hinted that regrettably, the State Government has not obeyed the court judgment till date saying that  the  State government lodged an appeal against the judgment obtained against it to the Court of Appeal and applied for a Stay of Execution of the said Judgment.

The counsel to the Coronet Obas hinted further that the the application for Stay of Execution was dismissed and the Appellants have till date not compiled and transmitted record of appeal to the Court of Appeal thus unnecessarily delaying the hearing of her own appeal.

He said that the upshot of the foregoing premise is that the Ogun State Government has been delinquent in its conduct with  disregard to the rule of law appealing to the Governor to obey the court judgement.

According to the  counsel, some of the Coronets numbering at least five  have died in the course of the struggle for enforcement of rights and benefits associated to their appointments as Coronets but the state government has refused to obey the court judgement, thereby contributing to the plights of the Coronets who are Judgment Creditors having regards to the Ogun State High Court Judgment.

Barrister Oniyire posited that no clear  progress can be attained in any society where there is disobedience to the tenets of the rule of law and disregard to Court Judgments.

He stressed that it is  expected that the  state Government will atone and respect the judgment of court pending judgment on appeal. It is never too late for corrections to be made.

He further commended  the Akarigbo of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Adewale Ajayi, who is also the current Chairman of Ogun state council of Obas,  for recognising and installing one of the Coronet Obas, Oba Hassan Bayoruwa Oye – Bello as Alatoyo of Atoyo in Sagamu local government area of Ogun state.

The legal luminary therefore called on other paramount rulers in the state to emulate the Akarigbo of Remoland to recognise and install the Coronet Obas in their domains who are judgement creditors.