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Supreme Court never granted Alaafin supremacy rights, lawyer backs Ooni

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Abuja-based lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, has said that no Supreme Court judgment makes the stool of the Alaafin of Oyo the ultimate decider on pan-Yoruba affairs.

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade, had stirred a heated debate on social media after the former recently conferred the Okanlomo of Yorubaland chieftaincy title on Ibadan business tycoon, Engineer Dotun Sanusi.

The Oyo paramount ruler, who saw the move as an affront to his authority, gave the Ooni a 48-hour ultimatum to revoke the chieftaincy title or face severe consequences.

But in a statement posted on his Facebook page on Tuesday, the Abuja lawyer described the Alaafin’s threat as wholly gratuitous and constitutionally unsound.

He argued that “beyond its surface provocation, the Alaafin’s order constitutes an impermissible assault on the very foundation of Yoruba heritage and seeks to revive a jurisdictional contest which neither law nor history sustains.”

“The Ooni of Ife acted squarely within his lawful, ancestral, and cultural prerogatives. These prerogatives are sui generis, inherent, and incapable of usurpation by any other stool. They are not the product of conquest or temporal power but derive from the very normative foundation of Yoruba civilization,” Olajengbesi said.

“Every student of Yoruba history knows tradition and scholarship unanimously affirm Ile-Ife as the cradle of existence of the Yoruba people, the primordial seat where Oduduwa, progenitor of the race, laid the foundation of legitimacy from which all kingdoms, including Oyo, derived their authority.”

He stressed that as a lawyer who has litigated disputes around chieftaincy law, he could affirm that no statute, Supreme Court judgment, or constitutional instrument vests exclusive pan-Yoruba jurisdiction in the Alaafin.

“The law recognises traditional rulers through state chieftaincy statutes, not residual claims of imperial conquest.

“With the greatest respect, the oft-cited Supreme Court decision that is now exaggerated and purportedly vested authority in the Alaafin must be properly confined to its facts. Judicial pronouncements are case-specific, and no ratio decidendi of that Court has ever declared the Alaafin the sole custodian of Yoruba legitimacy. No statute in any Yoruba-speaking state vests exclusive authority in the Alaafin to confer titles of pan-Yoruba significance, and the Court cannot by judicial fiat extend such jurisdiction,” the lawyer stated.

“The conferment of the title Okanlomo of Oodua on Chief Dotun Sanusi, a distinguished Yoruba entrepreneur and philanthropist, is not a political office or military command. It is a cultural honour, symbolic of fraternity and solidarity. Such honours fall well within the Ooni’s remit as custodian of Yoruba identity,” he added.

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Igboho Apologises To Alaafin Over Comment At Ooni’s Palace

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Yoruba nation agitator, Chief Sunday Adeyemo who is popularly called Sunday Igboho, has apologised to the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade, over a statement he made during his visit to the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi.

In a video late Saturday, Sunday Igboho dismissed the claims of insulting Oba Owoade, saying “I have nothing to gain in abusing the Alaafin”.

The Yoruba nation agitator insisted that his remarks at the Ooni’s palace were self-praise drawn from his lineage’s traditional eulogy.

He maintained that he holds the Alaafin in high esteem, describing him as an important ruler in Yorubaland.

Igboho clarified that his reference to the Alaafin as not having a crown was not intended as an insult, but as part of his family’s praise chant, which was well-known to Oba Owoade himself.

He stressed that his intention was to promote peace and unity among Yoruba monarchs, not to stir conflict.

“My father, Olugbon, called me and explained to me that our father, Alaafin of Oyo, said I was abusing him when I was at the Ooni of Ife’s Palace. I was not abusing you; why would I be abusing you? Olugbon is not a small king in Yoruba land, and if he corrects me on something, I will definitely make amendments immediately.

“Alaafin is not a small king in Yoruba land for someone like me to be talking anyhow to. I’m also from Oyo. That’s the way they normally eulogise us in my lineage, which the Alaafin is also aware of.

“They would say, ‘L’ade l’ade l’ade, Alaafin doesn’t have a crown, it is the crown of Aladikun that was collected for Alaafin’. That’s how they eulogise us in our Aladikun lineage.

“Ooni of Ife is a peaceful person; if not, I’ve abused him before, and when I entered his palace, they were still eulogising me in his presence and he didn’t say anything.

“So I also eulogised myself as a true son of Aladikun. All these things did not annoy the Ooni of Ife. He still celebrated me and called other powerful monarchs to honour and pray for me.

“I have nothing to gain in abusing Alaafin. What I’m after is for peace to reign among all of our kings; that is our prayer.

“Please, forgive me, I dare not disrespect you,” Igboho pleaded with the Alaafin.

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‘I Didn’t Abuse Alaafin’ – Sunday Igboho Speaks After Visiting Ooni

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Yoruba Nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has denied claims that he insulted the Alaafin of Oyo during his weekend visit to the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi.

Reacting to reports sparked by comments he made at the Ooni’s palace on Saturday, Igboho insisted that his words were misinterpreted, stressing that he regarded the Alaafin as a father figure and a foremost monarch in Yorubaland.

In a viral video on Saturday night, Igboho said, “My father, the Olugbon, called me and said the Alaafin felt I insulted him when I visited the Ooni. I want to make it clear that I never abused the Alaafin. I can’t and I won’t. The Alaafin is not a small monarch in Yorubaland. I am from Oyo, and the Alaafin is my father.”

Explaining the circumstances, Igboho stated that the confusion arose from traditional praise singing during his palace visit.

“When I visited the Ooni, the drummers and singers praised me with my family heritage. I only added to it. I said Ooni is a father of peace.

“I was surprised when he still welcomed me warmly, celebrated me and prayed for me despite all that had happened before. That was what I was emphasising. I didn’t insult the Alaafin,” he clarified.

The activist noted that the self-praise, or oríkì, was a long-standing cultural practice and not an act of disrespect.

“I can’t abuse Alaafin. I am his son. Even when I visited him, I greeted myself with the same oriki. That is how we do in our family compound.

“If my words were misunderstood, I ask for forgiveness. I never meant to insult the Alaafin,” Igboho added.

Reiterating his loyalty to Yoruba tradition, Igboho stressed that he would never speak ill of any monarch, noting that harmony among royal fathers was crucial for the unity of the Yoruba nation

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Sultan Declares Monday As First Day Of Rabi’ul Awwal 1447AH

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The Sultan of Sokoto and President General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has declared Monday, 25th August, 2025, as the first Day of Rabi’ul Awwal 1447AH.

It was reports that the declaration was contained in a statement signed by the Chairman of the Sultanate Council Advisory Committee on Religious Affairs, and Wazirin Sokoto, Professor Sambo Wali Junaidu.

He stated that the decision followed reports from the Sultanate Council Advisory Committee on Religious Affairs in conjunction with the National Moon sighting Committee, which confirmed that no sighting of the new crescent was received from Moon sighting Committees across the Country on Saturday, 23rd August, 2025, corresponding to 29th Safar 1447AH.

It explained that Sunday, 24th August, 2025, would therefore be the 30th Day of Safar, thereby making Monday the First Day of Rabi’ul Awwal 1447AH.

Meanwhile, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has faulted the proposed bill at the Senate seeking to officially designate the Ooni of Ife and the Sultan of Sokoto as permanent Co-Chairmen of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria.

The Ohanaeze warned that such a move marginalises other ethnic nationalities and violates principles of fairness and equity.

The organisation, in a statement issued on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Ezechi Chukwu, described the bill, which has already passed second reading, as discriminatory, ethnocentric and unjust.

Ohanaeze stated that it was “astounded” by the rationale behind the bill, accusing the Senate of utter disregard for fairness, equity, justice and the principle of federal character, as enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution.

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