By Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin
The Court of Appeal, Kwara Division, has affirmed the selection, appointment and installation of Oba AbdulRafiu Olaniyi Ajiboye, Oyelaran I, as the authentic Oloro of Oro land, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The appellate court upheld the judgment of a state High Court which affirmed Ajiboye’s appointment as authentic in August 2018.
Princes Ganiyu Abolaji and Tajudeen Olasunkanmi Aiyegusi of Ile-Oba, Oke-Ola, Oro, instituted a suit urging the appellate court to set aside a judgment of the High Court.
But the defendant’s lawyer, J.S. Bamigboye (SAN), argued that the claimants’ case was replete with contradictions and completely devoid of credibility.
Bamigboye submitted that the claimants cannot challenge the competence of the Kingmakers, which candidates and their ruling houses, including the claimants, had earlier voluntarily submitted to.
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He said: “This case is based on native laws and custom, which should be strictly proven. However, the evidence proffered by the claimant is so self-contradictory on all material facts and self-destructive that it lacks probative value.”
A three-man panel of the Appeal Court dismissed Princes Abolaji and Aiyegusi’s appeal for lacking in merit.
Justice Ibrahim Mohammed Saulawa held that the appointment, by the Kwara State government, was in line with the customs and tradition of Oro Kingdom.
The court also found, as a fact, that the ascension to the Oloro stool is by competition and not rotation as claimed by the petitioners.
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