A Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Pastor  and newly installed Soun of Ogbomosho land, Oba Afolabo Ghandi Olaoye has been sacked by the Oyo State High Court sitting in Ogbomoso.

The court also ordered the Oyo State Government to conduct a fresh selection process for the next Soun.

This followed a suit filed by one of the contestants, Kabir Laoye.

Laoye had argued in his suit that Olaoye was not eligible to be appointed as Soun and that his appointment was, therefore, illegal.

The court agreed with Laoye’s argument and ruled that Olaoye’s appointment was null and void.

The court also ordered the government not to appoint anyone to the position until after its judgement.

The Oyo State Government announced Olaoye as the new Soun on September 8, 2023, and he was installed on the same day.

The selection of Olaoye had become the subject of a court case as the Chairman, Screening Committee for the Laoye ruling house, in Ogbomoso, Abdulwahab Laoye, said the family had not selected anybody to fill the vacant stool of Soun of Ogbomoso, dismissing as mere insinuations, social media report that someone had been selected.

He said the ruling house had been dazed with the rumours that one Ghandi Afolabi, a pastor with the RCCG, had been selected.

The stool became vacant after the demise of Oba Jimoh Oyewumi Ajagungbade III, in December 2021, at the age of 95 years after he reigned for 48 years.

On his installment, the Mogaji of Laoye family, Prince Amos Olawole-Olaoye, said the new Soun is a recognised son of the family and entitled to the throne.

However, this pronouncement runs against the argument of some that the new traditional ruler was not part of the process from the beginning.

The Chairman, Screening Committee for Laoye Ruling House in Ogbomoso, Abdulwahab Laoye, had said the family did not select anybody to fill the vacant stool of Soun of Ogbomoso.

He said: “We did not select Ghandi and he is not among the 11 the screening committee selected out of 23 applicants. We do not want the matter to degenerate to the level of litigations. We scheduled a meeting for Feb. 23 and invited the council to observe.

“The council, however, hijacked the process from us and added another seven people based on the claims that they equally obtained the expression of interest form, thereby raising the number of the applicants to 18.”

But the Oyo State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Mr. Olusegun Olayiwola, stated that the announcement followed the processes specified under the law.