The tussle over the leadership of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House of Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, took a legal turn last Wednessday as Otunba Ajidagba Adedokun, who hails from the Adeberu royal family of the Fusengbuwa lineage, filed a lawsuit against Otunba Abdulateef Adebayo Owoyemi for allegedly impersonating the family’s Olori-Ebi (Family head).
Owoyemi was reportedly appointed following the resignation of Adekunle Hassan by the Tunwase clan. However, Adedokun, who insists he is the authentic Olori-Ebi, argues that Owoyemi’s claim to the position is unlawful and contrary to an existing judgment of Ijebu-Ode High Court II delivered by Justice Asenuga.
The suit, filed on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, at the Ijebu-Ode High Court, lists Adedokun, Prince Adeleke Adeyemi of the Olufadi royal family, and Prince Ademola Sonaya of the Ayora/Tunwase royal family as claimants.
Adedokun contends that Owoyemi has no ancestral connection to the Ile-Nla compound in Agunsebi, the historic seat of the Fusengbuwa dynasty. He identified the house’s eight recognized branches as Olufadi, Ayora/Tunwase, Shenowo, Okuyandewo, Oshinuga, Adekenu, Adebiyi, and Adeberu.
He further alleged that Owoyemi is a native of Ikoro-Ekiti and not Ijebu-Ode—a position he claimed was once affirmed by the late Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona. Adedokun stressed that his own appointment as Olori-Ebi was ratified on November 23, 2023, with official notifications sent to the Ogun State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and the late monarch.
Speaking to journalists after filing the suit, Adedokun said the case was meant to defend history and stop misrepresentation.
“Fusengbuwa Ruling House is rooted in Agunsebi Ile-Nla, Ijebu-Ode. No one can rewrite that history. Chief Lateef Owoyemi admitted before Justice Asenuga that he is from Ikoro-Ekiti. He has no claim to the Fusengbuwa headship,” he declared.
The ruling house is asking the court to restrain Owoyemi from presenting himself as Olori-Ebi and to enforce earlier judicial pronouncements on the matter.
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