An Oyo State High Court sitting in Ogbomoso, on Wednesday, declared as illegal, null, and void, the selection and installation of Oba Ghandi Olaoye as the new Soun of Ogbomoso.
Recall that this newspaper had exclusively reported how the court had given an injunction restraining the Oyo state governor and others from taking any further steps leading to the installation of the former Soun-elect as the substantive monarch until all pending issues were resolved.
However, the court injunction was not obeyed, as the kingmakers installed Ghandi as the new Soun of Ogbomoso on September 8, 2023, months after the throne had become vacant following the death of the late Oba Jimoh Oyewumi on December 12, 2021. Oba Oyewumi, who died aged 95, ruled for 48 years.
Recall that one of the contestants to the throne, Prince Muhammed Kabir Olaoye, had approached the court challenging Ghandi’s emergence and the process that brought him to the throne.
In the suit marked HOG/27/2022, the claimant alleged irregularities in the process that led to Ghandi’s emergence as the Soun of Ogbomoso.
Delivering the judgment yesterday, Justice Kareem Adedokun, ruled that the selection process that led to Ghandi’s emergence was fraught with illegalities.
Adedokun held that Ghandi was not validly nominated by the Laoye Ruling House and declared that all processes leading to his installation were illegal, null, and void.
He, therefore, granted the claimant’s prayer that “the nomination be set aside” and ordered “a fresh process.”
See the judgement here as exclusively obtained by AWA CONTENT:
Meanwhile, _Punch_ reports that the judgment would be appealed by the embattled monarch, urging the people to remain calm.
