OJON OF IJON AND ELEJIGBO OF EJIGBO IMPASSE: AROLE ONIMEWON, CROWN PRINCE OLAWALE EDAGBEJA GIVES VERDICTS.

AROLE ONIMEWON/ELEJIGBO-ELECT, CROWN PRINCE OLAWALE EDAGBEJA

The Head of Fadu Onimewon Royal Family, Ejigbo Awori Lagos State also known as Arole Onimewon and Elejigbo-Elect, Crown Prince Olawale Edagbeja has given his unapologetic thoughts and verdict on the raging Impasse between the Ojon of Ijon and ELEJIGBO in Ejigbo Awori Lagos State. Speaking to the Press on Wednesday 8th August 2018, through legal perspective said "The Status of the. Supreme Court judgment on Lagos State is submitted to be binding on it by virtue of section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution As Amended that provides inter alia:

" The decisions of the Supreme Court shall be enforced in any part of the Federation by all authorities and persons, and by courts of with subordinate jurisdiction to that of the the Supreme Court."

According to him, "The implication of this Constitutional provision is that Lagos State Government will correct the anomalous recognition of a trespasser, the Ojon of Ijon, to Ejigbo land as their Oba and limit his reign to his territory or community, Ijon, wherever it exists and recognize for the Ejigbos a distinct stool and crown peculiar to them, in this case the Oba Elejigbo of Ejigbo, gazette and approve same for installation in order to give effect to the Supreme Court's judgment of 1953 in Suit SC/57/51. To do otherwise is to dwell on unconstitutionality which we know that the Government of Lagos State, His Excellency, the Executive Governor will not cherish or condone."

The Crown Prince further stressed that an application and sincere request of the Ejigbo people represented by him is lying with the Honourable Commissioner of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to act on.

He said, "From the provision of the Constitution, it doesn't appear that the Hon. Commissioner has discretion to refuse to align itself with the Supreme Court Judgment. It is submitted that the sooner he does the needful, the better for the State, as this wrongful state of affairs cannot continue."

BARR. CLIFF OFORJI EXPLODES; CHARGES GOVERNOR AKINWUNMI AMBODE TO RECOGNIZE, APPROVE AND GAZETTE THE STOOL OF OBA ELEJIGBO OF EJIGBO AWORI LAGOS.

                                                           BARRISTER CLIFF OFORJI

Some may say, let the sleeping dog lie or sleep; in other words, that there will be no need to disturb an existing order even if arrived at by default or mistake. Again, history has not permitted it to be so. The world was suddenly awakened by the disturbances in the old Yugoslavia that split into Bosnia and Serbia, East Timor from Indonesia and Modakeke and Ife matters. No wrongful sleeping or lying dog will have peace no matter how long such dog has laid or slept.

The Ejigbos may have tolerated this anomaly for a while, since 1998 when the Oba Ojon of Ijon was installed the Oba Ojon of Ejigbo based on wrong understanding of the Supreme Court Judgment whereby, Ojon of Ijon whose sphere of influence or authority is limited to Ijon was extended to Ejigbo, a distinct town and community with no ancestral affinities with the Ijons. Ijon community of the Ojon was rather discovered from the Supreme Court Judgment recognized the suverainty of the Ejigbos over the Ijons by its pronouncements that it is the Ejigbo that will cap the Ojon for the Ijon. A total reversed scenario was created by the  Lagos State Government White Paper on the Ejigbo Chieftaincy matter in 1998 whereby it turned around to subject the Ejigbos, the landlords of the Ijons and their king, to the Ojon to be the overlord of the Ejigbos, and the Ojon that they capped to be their Oba: quite contrary to the native law and custom of Ejigbo and the Supreme Court Judgment that upheld the Ejigbos as the landlords of Ejigbo and the Ijons and their king, Ojon, as trespassers.

The question of whether Lagos State Government can choose to obey the Supreme Court decision or not, section 287 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as Amended provides inter alia:

" THE DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT SHALL BE ENFORCED IN ANY PART OF THE FEDERATION BY ALL AUTHORITIES AND PERSONS, AND BY COURTS WITH SUBORDINATE JURISDICTION TO THAT OF THE SUPREME COURT"

It is submitted that this Constitutional provision does not give any discretion to Lagos State Government as an authority nor its subordinate agent,  the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs or anybody for that matter any discretion to choose what to apply on a matter that the Supreme Court has decided. TheSupreme Court in its judgment upheld the distinction between Ejigbo and Ijon, the rulership of Ijon people in the name of the Ojon, while the Ejigbos claimed and still insists that their king is the Oba Elejigbo of Ejigbo and thirdly and most instructive is that the Ijons and their Ojon are trespassers in Ejigbo, while the Ejigbos are the landlord. It is therefore inconceivable to fathom or understand the reasons behind the total reversal of the judgment of the Supreme Court under reference by recognizing, approving and gazetting the stool of the trespassers as the authentic crown of the Ejigbos and not the Ijons which the Supreme Court recognized that pertains only to the Ijons and not Ejigbo and Ejigbos.

Consequently, the wrongful application of the Supreme Court judgment in recognition of the stool, crown of Oba Ojon of Ijon as Oba Ojon of Ejigbo is misconceived and erroneous understanding and application of the law which the Supreme Court Judgment interpreted. The clear direction of the line of thought of the Supreme Court was the Ikeja Magistrate Court ruling in the application for injunction against the Ojon in 1957 in Suit No. ik/1664/57 at the instance of the Olori Ebi of Fadu Onimewon, the applicant, who was praying the Court to restrain the Ojon from parading himself as what he was not in Ejigbo, the Honourable Court upheld his prayer and restrained the Ojon.

Notwithstanding the above, the wordings of the judgment of the Supreme Court is in English and unambiguous, and a government agency, the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs can always refer the judgments presented by the Ejigbo's representative in their application to correct the anomalous recognition, gazetting of the crowning and installation of Oba Ojon of Ijon as Oba of Ejigbo by referring the judgment to the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General of Lagos State instead of seeking the Supreme Court to interpret its judgment before it can act on the petition of the Ejigbos on this anomaly.

It is submitted that as long as the anomalous state of affairs persists, Lagos State Government is in breach of section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution by not enforcing the judgment of the Supreme Court.

The Ejigbo princes will be acting within the law if they approach His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Lagos State and the House of Assembly in order to correct this anomaly.

Long live His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Lagos State, Gov Akinwunmi Ambode.

THE LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF WRONGFUL INSTALLATION OF OBA OJON IN EJIGBO LAND: BARR. CLIFF OFORJI

Ruminating on the consequences of installing an Oba based contrary to the operative of the native law and custom, the OBA OJON OF EJIGBO CASE.

Barr. Cliff Oforji

There is no doubt that that will be a recipe for breakdown of law and order. The Oba would crave to command obedience, respect and loyalty, the Oba could get this from some subjects willy nilly by sheer use of force and by bribing or buying of loyalists, while sections of the community whose rights are infringed upon would resist it such as the ruling houses. Also the elites of the community will also resist the development as they would be subjected to alien rule which would distort their custom, tradition and culture. The Oba would install and appoint loyalists of his own that will enforce his will totally contrary to the customs and traditions of the community.

The community in their traditional settings has their Olori Ebi and Baale who will act independent of the Oba and may not subject themselves to the Oba particularly in the control of their land and their customs. Their will be obvious confusion in the land, every traditional action of the Oba may not have the cooperation of the Omo Oniles and Princes who do not recognize the Oba. Unintentionally, the community will have two authorities; the defacto leader- the Olori ebi and the de jure leader- the wrongful Oba. The intensity of the rivalry will be determined by their clashes.

The Oba leveraging on government recognition and authority, would aspire to suppress and silence the defacto leader of the community, the olori ebi, whose authority and recognition is from the native law and custom of the community that is more fundamental and obviously in line with the operative mandate of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and the philosophy of local and Traditional governance closest to the objective of government in that regard. Therefore, the wrongful recognition, crowning and installation of an Oba that is not in accordance with the native custom and tradition of the community and acceptable to the community; otherwise, the purpose of government will be defeated.

We have argued elsewhere and still believe that the Lagos State Government is a responsible government and would never be mischievous.  The landmark cases and developments that we have in Nigeria have their origin in Nigeria; nevertheless, errors are sometimes committed. The event of the recognition of the stool and crown and gazetting of the Oba Ojon of Ijon as the Oba of Ejigbo is with respect, an inexplicable decision. Unlike other cases,  the Supreme Court judgment of May 1953 in the case SC/57/51 succinctly settled any confusion or misunderstanding that may have existed on the Kingship, crown and stool of Ejigbo. The salient issues highlighted in the Supreme Court Judgment under reference are:

i.) Ejigbo is distinct from Ijon. This was based on the evidence that there is a place called Ijon, about 5 to 11 miles away from Ejigbo. In other word, the territories or communities, Ejigbo and Ijon are not the same. The Ejigbo traditional and oral history support this fact. The Ejigbos state that the Ijons came to Ejigbo sometime in the 18th century as a result of the Dahomey and Egba wars. The Ijon presently occupy a place at Alimosho Local Government. The Ejigbo oral history has it that they receive the Ijons and their king, Oba Ojon as war refugees on exile. They gave them land to live and work.

ii.) The Supreme Court judgment affirmed that the head of the Ijons is called the Ojon. In other word, Ojon is the king or Oba of the Ijon.

iii.) The Supreme Court judgment held that the Ejigbos are the landlord, while the Ijons are trespassers in the case before the Supreme Court that touched on the ownership of the land. The Ijons through the Ojon was laying claim to tbe land the Ejigbos gave to them as of right and not tenants by derogating the rights of the landlord, Ejigbo.

It s therefore unfathomable how and where the Lagos State Chieftaincy Commission arrived at the decision that Oba Ojon of Ijon even though he chose to live in Ejigbo as explained earlier has Ejigbo as part of his territory. With due respect, it is wrongful, miscarriage of judgment, erroneous and mischievous. The position of Lagos State Government on the Ejigbo Chieftaincy matter is assailable and cannot stand. The decisions reached are arrived per incuriam. Itmust be corrected in order to do justice and follow the established order as enunciated by the Supreme Court in its considered judgment. Lagos State is set up by law and operates by law and must act in accordance with the law. The recognition, approvals, crowning of the Oba Ojon of Ijon as Oba of Ejigbo does not follow the law are eloquently expressed by the Supreme Court in its judgment in suit SC/57/51.

Happily, the Princes of Ejigbo are law abiding, they have maintained peace and have presented a petition to the Commissioner of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to correct the anomalous recognition of Oba Ojon of Ijon as Oba of Ejigbo. The Ejigbos have Elejigbo as their Oba and do not have any ancestral relationship with the Ijons or their Oba, the Ojon. It is strange to Ejigbo and sacrilegious to their revered tradition and custom. The Ejigbo ancestral deities are worried and are threatening, and the Ejigbo indigenes are restless. The clashes between the Oba Ojon and the Ejigbo princes and Traditional rulers have gone to Ejigbo Divisional Police, Area D Police Command, Commissioner of Police, FSARS. For how long would this state of affairs continue?