The 75 Coronet Obas installed by Senator Ibikunle Amosun have appealed to Governor Dapo Abiodun to obey the court judgement reinstating them.
Speaking through their principal counsel, Barrister Olumide Oniyire, the affected Royal fathers urged the Ogun state government to obey the rule of law by re- installing them as Coronet wearing Obas through the court judgement on November 29, 2021.
Barrister Oniyire at the weekend said that Ogun state government had filed an appeal against the high court judgement at the court of appeal and applied for stay of execution of the judgement.
The legal luminary explained that the stay of execution was dismissed, saying that the Ogun state government failed to compile and transmit record of appeal to the court of appeal thereby unnecessarily delaying hearing of the appeal.
He described the refusal of the State Governor to obey the court judgement as an act of lawlessness.
The counsel to the Coronet Obas said, “Regrettably, the state government has not obeyed the court judgement till date. The state government lodged an appeal against the judgement at the appeal court and consequently applied for stay of execution of the judgement.
The application for stay of execution was dismissed and the appellant has till date not compiled and transmitted record of appeal to the court of appeal thus unnecessarily delaying the hearing of her own appeal.
“The upshot of the foregoing premise is that the Ogun state government has been delinquent in its conduct with regards t its lack of observance and denigration of democratic tenets of the rule of law particularly the concepts of supremacy of the law and equality of all persons and authority before the law, thus, rendering the courts in particular a victim of Ogun state government’s egregious and reckless conduct as government of Ogun state continues to defecate on the face of a subsisting court judgement. It is simply the height of government indiscipline, lawlessness and unprecedented desecration of the temple of justice to refuse to obey a court judgement.”
According to the legal luminary, some of the Coronet Obas numbering five have died in the course of the struggle for the enforcement of rights and benefits associated to their appointments as coronets, saying that the state government has remained highly insensitive and insensate to the plights of the Coronet Obas who are judgement creditors having regards to the Ogun state government high court judgement.
” It is therefore expected that the Ogun state government will atone and respect the judgement of the court pending judgement on appeal. It is never too late for corrections to be made,” he said.
He however commended the Akarigbo of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Adewale Ajayi for recognising and installing one of the Coronet Obas just this week, Oba Hassan Bayoruwa Oye- Bello as Alatoyo of Atoyo in Sagamu local government area of Ogun state.
Barrister Oniyire called on other Paramount Rulers in the state to emulate the Akarigbo of Remoland by recognising and installing the Coronet Obas in their domains.
Asked about his comment on the purported committee set up recently by the state government to recognise only 40 out of the 75 Coronet Obas, the legal luminary responded that such move from the state government is an abuse of court process and flagrant disobedience to the rule of law, explaining that during the court proceeding at the state high court, 15 of the corner Obas withdrew from the case while five of them have died remaining 55 Coronet Obas who are now judgement creditors.
Barrister Oniyire urged the state government to shelved such insensitive idea by obeying the court judgement by recognising and installing the Coronet Obas who are judgement creditors without further delay.
It would be recalled that the former Governor of Ogun state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun installed the 75 Coronet Obas at the twilight of his administration in May, 2019 but was revoked by Prince Dapo Abiodun- led government in February, 2020 but later upturned by the judgement of the state high court on November, 29 2021 recognising all the appointed Coronet Obas as the validly appointed Coronet Obas.
