- How embattled royal father survived prison ordeal
- Will Governor AbdulRazaq come to his rescue?
For 21 years, the Oba of Jebba, His Royal Highness Oba AbdulKadir Alabi Adebara, has had a torturous reign as the traditional ruler of his community. He was humiliated, imprisoned and rendered classless before the judiciary came to his rescue. Today he is appealing to the governor of Kwara State to pay his backlog of salaries and promote him to first class status like his counterparts. SINA FADARE writes on his many battles.
The people of Jebba, a community in Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State are crying in silence. All hope seems lost as the rural community at the base of Niger Bridge agonises over the marginalization of their royal father, Oba AbdulKadir Alabi Adebara, who has been subjected to all manner of marginalization by the Ilorin oligarchy since he assumed the throne of his forefathers about 21 years ago.
For being a descendant of a crown prince from lle-lfe, the cradle of Yoruba race and determined to maintain his ancestral lineage with Oduduwa, he was incarcerated, treated like a common criminal and arraigned in various courts. He has, however, confronted the hegemony with the calmness of a dove and the tenacity of purpose resulting in a legal procedure that eventually gave him an edge over his adversaries.
The genesis
Moro Local Government under which Jebba exists was created in 1976. It comprises of the districts of Olooru, Ejidongari, Lanwa, Molete and Paiye. The area is predominantly populated by people of Yoruba extraction.
The people of Moro Local Government Area have been victims of an alien policy called ‘Emirate’ system, imposed on them by the llorin oligarchy. It was in order to disengage them from this oppressive tendency that they demanded for and got a separate Local Government in 1976.
However, the so-called autonomy became nothing more than a mere window-dressing. The basis of their agitation was defeated as none of their traditional rulers was allowed to be graded or promoted by the Ilorin Emirate, whose head, Alhaji Sulu Gambari, ensured that the status quo was maintained in spite of various reforms.
A comprehensive grading of traditional stools in what is now referred to as Kwara State actively began in 1968 when Brigadier D. L. Bamigboye (rtd) held sway as military governor. It was at this time that the llorin Native Authority was spilt into Igbomina/Ekiti, Oyun and llorin.
At this time, the traditional rulers from the newly carved lgbomina/Ekiti and Oyun divisions were recognised and graded. But there was no traditional ruler in the newly carved llorin Division except the Emir of llorin who retained his recognition and grading.
Another grading came up in 1983 during the civilian regime of the late former governor, Alhaji Adamu Attah. The Ohoro of Shao and the Oba of Jebba benefitted from this as they were graded Third Class Obas during the exercise. Their joy was, however, short-lived as the military administration that took over in 1984 danced to the tune of the llorin oligarchy and withdrew the staff of office of the two traditional rulers.
Dramatically, relief came the way of the people of Moro Local Government Area in 2002/2003 when the stools of the Ohoro of Shao and the Oba of Jebba were again re-graded to Third Class status by the administration of the late Governor Mohammed Alabi Lawal due to popular demand and in consonance with the principle of natural justice.
Again, the relief was short-lived as Governor Bukola Saraki, who came after Lawal in 2003, withdrew the staffs of office of the two Obas.
In 2015, the regime of Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed carried out another grading exercise that covered the entire Kwara State with the exception of the llorin Emirate Council, and eight other monarchs were elevated to First Class status. Some of the upgraded traditional rulers were in the same Third Class status with the Oba of Jebba and the Ohoro of Shao.
They included the Olipako of Share, Olusin of Isin and Olosi of Osi, while some who were not graded at all in 1983 are now of First Class status. They include the Emirs of Okuta, Gwanara, Ilesha Baruba and Yashikira in Baruten Local Government Area.
The big question is why and who are the brains behind the humiliation of Ohoro of Shao and the Oba of Jebba stool?
Table I: Distribution of graded traditional rulers in Kwara State 1968-Date
The above table is the graphical representation of grading and elevation of traditional rulers in Kwara State from 1968 to date. From the table, 106 traditional rulers were upgraded in the state from 1968 to date with the exclusion of any traditional ruler from the llorin Emirate comprising Ilorin West, Ilorin East, Ilorin South, Moro and Asa local government areas.
Ironically, of all the traditional rulers in the five local government areas, only the Emir of Ilorin is recognised as a First Class traditional ruler while the rest, including the Ohoro of Shao and Oba of Jebba, were classless for many years, courtesy of the Ilorin oligarchy.
Economic oppression
Investigation revealed that during the reign of the late Gen. Sani Abacha as Head of State, he granted 5% of the total allocation accruing to every local government area in the country to the traditional rulers in such domains. Consequently, all the money deducted from the local governments in the llorin Emirate, which comprises Asa, Moro, llorin-East, IIorin-South and IIorin-West were all remitted to the IIorin Emirate Council with no single traditional ruler from Moro local government benefitting.
The above scenario created a lot of agitations, following which a 15-man group known as Moro Concerned Elders, led by Alhaji Isiaka Ayinde Jimoh, on May 17, 2017, wrote a letter to the then Governor of Kwara State, AbdulFatah Ahmed with a nine point demand. Among the demands was that “there should be creation of Moro Traditional Council of which membership should be made up of our indigenous traditional rulers.
“That further diversion of the 5% of Moro Local Government allocation currently being remitted to the ‘llorin Emirate Council’ and which are being consistently misappropriated and abused by the so called llorin Emirate Council should be stopped immediately.”
The elders also demanded the immediate withdrawal of the district heads from Moro Local Government Area in compliance with the Kwara State Government White Paper of 17th December, 1987 on the issue and the immediate return of the pre-1984 3rd Class grading of both Ohoro of Shao and Oba of Jebba and the immediate upgrading of the duo to First Class status like their counterparts, the Olupako of Share (Ifelodun Local Government Area), Olosi of Osi (Ekiti Local Government Area) and Olusin of Isin Ekiti (Isin Local Government Area).
Agony of 103-year-old Oba of Jebba
For 21 years that he has been on the throne of his forefathers, Oba Abdulkadir Alabi Adebara has been fighting the battle of his life with the llorin oligarchy. Besides constant humiliation, the state government has denied him everything he deserves, including his salaries. It was gathered that the community has been using all the legal means available to them to get justice and accord their Oba the respect he deserves but all their efforts and agitations were punctured by the llorin oligarchy
It is obvious that the travails of the people of Moro are politically motivated just like the humiliation of its traditional rulers. Apart from former Governor Adamu Attah and Mohammed Lawal who dared challenge the llorin oligarchy by grading the Oba of Jebba and the Ohoro of Shao during their reign, other civilian governors have buckled under the powers that be each time the issue is raised.
The legal battle
Oba Adebara, installed as the Oba of Jebba on May 11, 2003, was arraigned in 2006 in a Magistrate’s Court and later in 2009 before a High Court Judge, Justice Hannah Ajayi, in suit No KWS/2c/2009 on trumped up charges. He was remanded in prison for 19 days before he got bailed.
In the case lasted for eight years, Oba Adebara was accused of “parading himself as an Oba in gross violation of both the state and local government orders and also while giving evidence in a suit before the High Court as the Traditional Ruler of Jebba Community when clearly knew that the information was false and in contravention of the Chiefs Appointment and Deposition Law, as well as the Penal Code.”
The Counsel to the monarch, J.S. Bamigboye, had punctured the arguments and submissions of the prosecution counsel to the state government, Mrs. F. B. Ishola, countering and summiting that the content of the letter purportedly written by the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs was not addressed to any precise person or stool, arguing that it was general in content.
To the counsel, for the prosecution to bring the accused person within the confines of the letter, they must prove, among others, that the accused was appointed Oba of Jebba in 2003 without compliance with the Chiefs Appointment and Deposition Law of 1963, which the Prosecution woefully fell short of proving.
Bamigboye argued that there was no evidence, credible or incredible, before the court to show the precise provision of the Chiefs and Deposition Law 1963 which the traditional and governmental appointment of the accused failed to comply with. To him, the prosecution had also failed to adduce any evidence whatsoever to suggest that the accused person did not take the oath of office upon his appointment and grading as required by law.
“Contrary to the evidence of the prosecution that there was massive protest against the appointment of the accused, the evidence of the defence, to all intents and purposes, indicated massive support by the Jebba community, including the 33 villages under Jebba,” he argued.
He submitted that “there was no challenge to the appointment of the accused within the Ruling House. There was also no acknowledged petition to the governor over the appointment, while there was no suit against the said appointment.
“Thus, the purported letters, including the two which emanated from the local government, do not and cannot act as instruments of deposition because the Oba still remains an Oba by virtue of his traditional appointment and is competent to parade himself as such.”
Historic judgment
Justice Hannah Ajayi, who in her judgment delivered in 2014 found the evidence of the four prosecution witnesses apparently contradictory while that of the two called by the defence tallied, noted that the prosecution had failed to prove that the appointment of the accused as the Oba of Jebba in 2003 was done without complying with the Chiefs Appointment and Deposition Law 1963.
Similarly, she agreed with the defence counsel that the prosecution also failed to prove that the late Governor Mohammed Lawal’s administration did not follow the advice of the Council of Chiefs in appointing the accused person and subsequently “discharged and acquitted him on both counts.”
The wild jubilation that followed the judgment was a testimony that the people of Jebba were solidly behind their king. Recounting his experience and feeling after the judgment, Oba Adebara, in a chat with our correspondent, said it was a monumental judgment that would go down in the history of the ancient Yoruba town.
Adebara dedicated the victory to the Almighty God, the judiciary and the people of Jebba who stood behind him like the rock of Gibraltar while the case lasted.
As it would be expected, the state government appealed the judgment but met a brick wall as the appellate court struck out the case for being statute barred and for lack of diligent prosecution.
Against this backdrop, Bamigboye, attorney to Oba Adebara had, on April 1, 2014, written to the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, requesting the payment of the accumulated salary arrears and other personal emoluments of Oba Adebara as a Third Class Graded Chief in the state from May 18, 2003 to the date of the court judgment, expressing confidence that “as a fair and just leader committed to rule of law, legality and tenets of democratic rule, our demands would have an immediate attention”.
Unfortunately there was no response from the state government or any of its agencies till today. The Nation gathered that all petitions and letters sent to all previous governors and the incumbent, Alhaji AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, by the people of Jebba have fallen on deaf ears.
Community’s Demand
Pegged to the wall, the Jebba community once again gave a strong voice to the agitation of payment of the outstanding salary arrears of their aged king. At a recent press conference addressed by the spokesman of the Jebba community, High Chief Jaiyeola Omotosho, he made an appeal to the Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji AbdulRazaq to immediately order the payment of the monarch’s 21 years arrears of salaries and other emoluments. Omotosho said the time was ripe for the government to upgrade the stool of the Oba from third class status to first class in line with his contemporaries of 1983 who are now in first class.
Omotosho lamented that “since the judgment, many letters have been written to past and present governments for the implementation of the court judgment, starting with the payment of all withheld salaries, allowances and other personal emoluments, all to no avail.
“The last straw that broke the camel’s back was the Oba of Jebba’s letter of appeal to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq dated August 31, 2023, requesting for the payment of his personal emoluments and the implementation of the court judgment.
“He regretted that there are some third forces in government who are working against the progress of the community.
“We have strong reasons to believe that some officials of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs are working in cahoots with one or two traditional rulers in the state who are out to frustrate the payment of the accumulated salaries and allowances of our monarch.
“We, therefore, request Governor AbdulRazaq to direct his searchlight on the state Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs over alleged removal from circulation of the relevant subject file on Oba of Jebba’s request.”
Government’s response
Speaking with The Nation reporter on the phone, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Abdullahi Abubakar Bata, denied that the file of the case at the ministry was missing.
He explained that the said letter from the community was addressed to the governor and the governor passed it to the ministry for further action.
Bata said: “The ministry sent the file to the office of the Attorney General for proper and professional inputs. Rather than the people coming back to the ministry for clarification, they went to the press with false allegation that the file is missing.”
Bata insisted that the ministry was working on the file, noting that there was no time it ignored the people.
“The situation has been raging in the past 21 years, and here is a governor who has just spent about five years in office attending to the matter.
“The people should be patient with him. He does not have any negative feelings against the payment,” he said.
The commissioner, who denied that there is any monarch in the state blocking the payment of Oba of Jebba’s accrued salaries, said it is all a figment of the imagination of the people peddling the false rumour.
He said: “As far as l am concerned, there is no traditional ruler blocking the payment of the said money or any one dictating to us that we should not listen to them. l don’t know where they are getting such from.
“When they first came to me, l told them that l had enough information about the issue and that l was doing my investigation on it.
“The file they said was missing is not missing. How can a file miss in the ministry? We were the ones who sent the file to the Ministry of Justice for advice. If we were not treating the file, we would not take such a step.”
“It was the governor who sent the letter to us that we should investigate the matter and get back to him. They should have been patient enough to see what we are doing by either going back to the governor or to my office to ask relevant questions instead of going to address the press on the issue.”
