Ondo community seeks Aiyedatiwa’s intervention over plot to install monarch

The indigenes of Irun Akoko community, in Akoko North-East Local Government Area of Ondo State, have warned that peace in the town could be threatened over an alleged plot to install a monarch in the community, calling on Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to urgently intervene and halt the process.

The community described the move to recognise one Olanrewaju Adeyemi as the “Owa Adimula” of Oke-Oro as illegal and provocative, insisting that no such community exists within Irun Akoko.

Paul Oguntimehin, the Asiwaju of Irun Akoko, alongside the community’s lawyer, Olusegun Adu Peters, while speaking at a press conference on behalf of the Onirun of Irun Akoko, Samuel Bayode Agboola and the people of the town, appealed to the state government to prevent what they described as a looming crisis.

They said the matter was already before a court of law and warned that any attempt to proceed with the recognition of the disputed title while litigation was pending could destabilise the community.

Adu Peters disclosed that the suit was pending before Justice B. J. Akinwumi of the Ondo State High Court sitting in Ikare Akoko.

“We urge Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to do the needful by rejecting any request submitted for the approval and recognition of the purported ‘Owa Adimula’ title of the first defendant and his non-existing ‘Oke-Oro’ community during the pendency of suit number HCIK/20/CIV/2025,” he said.

According to him, the suit was instituted to challenge what he described as the provocative action of Adeyemi in seeking official recognition for an unapproved community within Irun Akoko without the consent of the Onirun.

He noted that such attempts had previously resulted in tension and a breach of peace in the town.

“All parties in the suit have been duly served and the matter has come up twice before the court. It has now been adjourned for hearing,” Adu Peters added.

The lawyer further alleged that despite the subsisting litigation, the defendant was still making moves to secure government approval for the disputed title.

“Any action taken in that direction while the matter is before the court will only inflame passions and worsen the situation in the town,” he warned.

He recalled that a similar move in 2014, through suit number HIK/24/2014, seeking recognition of Oke-Oro and approval to appoint a traditional ruler, was dismissed by the court.

He added that the request was equally rejected by the Ajama Commission of Inquiry, stressing that no community known as Oke-Oro was recognised in the commission’s report and the White Paper issued on August 24, 2024.

“We are here because we want peace. Sons and daughters of Irun Akoko are making progress within and outside the country, and we do not want confusion or misunderstanding to derail our development,” Adu Peters said.

Oguntimehin, the Asiwaju of Irun Akoko, who also spoke at the event appealed directly to the governor and the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to intervene and stop the alleged plot.

“If there is anyone the government wants to compensate, they can make him a commissioner or recommend him for an ambassadorial position. They should not create problems for my generation by making someone king of a non-existent community,” he said.

Oguntimehin faulted the continued parading of Adeyemi as an Oba since 2014 and lamented what he described as government indifference to the development efforts of Irun Akoko.

“We have renovated schools, attracted the Civil Defence to Irun, and ongoing projects are benefiting everyone. We want peace to develop our town. The state government should not create problems for us by creating any kingdom for anybody,” he added.