Osun State High Court, Osogbo Judicial Division, has fixed Monday,18th day of March, 2024 for resumption of legal fireworks on the case of Chieftaincy Stool of Alawo of Awo in Egbedore Local Government area of the State.

The case involved a depose new Alawo, Mr. Taiwo Abdulrasaq Adegboye and several orders in a Suit N0: HOS/ 84/2020 and the case would be presided over by the Hon. Justice M.O. Agboola at Court 6b of the State High Court Complex, Osogbo.

Although, the Appeal Court, Akure Judicial Division in Appeal N0:CA/AK/58/2021, had earlier nullified the purported selection, election, appointment, approval and subsequent installation of Adegboye through its landmark Judgement dated 8th day of August,2022.

The Appeal Court declared Adegboye purported assumption and subsequent installation on the Stool of Alawo since the midnight of September 13, 2021 as illegal, null and void by stopping him from parading himself as new Alawo and wearing any insignia including; beads, crown and any other paraphernalia of the Chieftaincy Stool henceforth.

But Adegboye refused to respect the Appeal Court Judgement by still parading himself as new Alawo and also conferred purported and illegal honourary Chieftaincy titles on the elder Sister of Osun State Governor, Mrs. Modupe Adeleke-Sanni and his late husband, Mr. Aderemi Sanni in flagrant disobedience to Supreme Court of Nigeria in SC/CV/1079/2022, which illegal Chieftaincy titles ceremony held on 9th December, 2023.

Speaking on Sunday on the development, the Assistant General Secretary (AGS), Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ), Pastor Michael Agassi commending the State Chief Judge (CJ), Hon. Justice Adepele Ojo for allowing the Court to resume the matter immediately after the State Chapter of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) called off their three months old strike action.

Speaking further on the continue flagrant disobedience of the Appeal Court Judgement by Taiwo Adegboye, describing Adegboye’s action as unconstitutional, illegal and contempt of the Court, insisting that It is contemptuous to wage war against the Judgement of the Court of Appeal, calling for immediate arrest of Adegboye by the security agents,

Agassi, while supporting his argument with the Supreme Court of Nigeria authority that it is trite principle of rule of law to obey the order of the Court as contained in the case of ABACHA V. FAWEHINMI (2002)2 SCNQR 489 at 546 thus :”….It is the law that a decision of a Court of competent jurisdiction, no matter that if seems palpable null and void, unattractive or unsupportable, remains good law and uncompromisingly binding until set aside by a superior Court of competent jurisdiction”.

Also citing, the case of Agbai Vs Okogbue(1991)7 NWLR (Pt 204)391, Abiodun Vs Chief Judge, Kwara State(2007)18 NWLR (Pt1065)109, Bass & Matt Enterprises (Nig) Ltd Vs keystone Bank Ltd(2015) 1NWLR (Pt1441)609, Agbakoba Vs INEC (2008)18 NWLR (1119)489, Vaswani Trading Co Ltd Vs Savalakh & Co(1972) 12 SC 77, Ivory Merchant Bank Ltd Vs. Partnership Investment Ltd(1996) 5 NWLR (Pt 448)362, Unipetrol (Nig) Plc Vs Abubakar (1997) 6 NWLR (Pt 509) 470, Effiom Vs Ironbar (2000)3 NWLR (Pt 650)545, Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Ltd Vs Cutra International Ltd(2020)11 NWLR (Pt1735)302, Governor, Kwara State Vs Adeniyi(2021)12 NWLR (Pt 1790)305, Ezegbu Vs First African Trust Bank Ltd (1992) 1 NWLR (Pt 220)699, Confitrust (Nig) Ltd Vs Emmax Motors Ltd (2016) LPELR 41428(CA), All Progressives Congress Vs Karfi (2017) LPELR 47024(SC).

And Registered Trustees, Apostolic Church Vs Olowoleni(1990) 6 NWLR (Pt 158) at 537-538, Nnaemeka- Agu,JSC, explained the law thus: “….. Once parties have turned their dispute over to the Courts for determination, the right to resort to self-help ends. So, it is not permissible for one of the parties to take any step during the pendency of the Suit which may have the effect of foisting upon the Court a situation of complete helplessness, or which may give the impression that the Court is being used as a mere subterfuge, to tie the hands of one party while the other party helps himself extra- judicially. Both parties are expected to await the results of the litigation and the appropriate order of Court before acting further…In The Military Governor of Lagos State v Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu ….., the Supreme Court gave its stamp of approval to the principle, inter alia, that once the Court is seized of the matter, no party has the right to take the matter into its own hands….

The same principle applies in this case, mutatis mutandis, notwithstanding the fact that the offending party in this case is a church organization. They are subjected to the rule of law, and are expected to obey the law. Once they submitted the dispute to the court, they ought not to have done nothing which gave the impression that they are trying to pre-empt the decision of the Court. They could no longer, pending the determination of the suit, resort to self-help by erecting the fence wall without an order of the Court. To have done so amounted to lawlessness…”

The cleric cum activist, then explained that Mr. Adegboye has been embroiled in no fewer than twelve (12) cases from Magistrate to High Court to Appeal Court and Supreme Court of Nigeria in respect of Alawo Chieftaincy Stool, including; HOS/84/2020,HED/26/2020,HED/31/2020,HOS/63/2021,HED/07/2021,HEJ/10/2021,HED/48/2021,CA/AK/58/2021 and SC/CV/1079/2022 on Appeal N0: CA/AK/58/2021 on HOS/84/2020 with host of others.

Agassi noted that the suits were as a result of his fraudulent and illegal acts of trying to become a monarch of the ancient town through the backdoor which the people of the community rejected vehemently that resulted to the institution of multiple litigations against Adegboye.