…Restrains Prince Odimayo from parading as monarch
By Duchess Ifeoluwa
An Okitipupa High Court has restrained the Ondo State Government, traditional kingmakers and Prince Samuel Saka Odimayo from proceeding with the installation of the Olofun of Irele in Irele Local Government Area of the state pending the determination of a suit challenging his selection.
The court, presided over by Justice A.W. Fabuluje, granted an interlocutory injunction restraining Prince Odimayo from parading himself as the Olofun of Irele pending the hearing and determination of the substantive case.
The legal action was instituted by one of the aspirants to the throne, Prince Ademola Idowu Olowoyiribi, through his counsel, Femi Emmanuel Emodamori, who challenged the approval of Prince Odimayo’s appointment by the Ondo State Executive Council.
In an application before the court, the claimant sought an order setting aside the purported approval of Prince Odimayo’s appointment by members of the State Executive Council on or about June 2, 2026, alleging that the approval was granted despite a subsisting interim injunction issued by the court on May 6, 2026.
Prince Olowoyiribi also filed a Form 49 application seeking to commit Prince Odimayo to prison for allegedly presenting himself, or allowing himself to be presented, to the State Executive Council for approval as Olofun of Irele in defiance of the court order restraining such action.
Among the reliefs sought and granted by the court were orders restraining Prince Odimayo, his agents, privies or anyone acting on his behalf from parading himself, performing any traditional rites or presenting himself for installation as the Olofun of Irele pending the determination of the motion on notice.
The court also restrained the Irele Local Government, the Ondo State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, the Governor of Ondo State, and the kingmakers from recognising, installing or processing any request for approval of Prince Odimayo as Olofun of Irele pending the hearing of the case.
Justice Fabuluje further ordered that the status quo ante bellum be maintained, directing all parties to revert to the position that existed before April 30, 2026, with the Olofun stool remaining vacant and no installation rites to be performed until the matter is determined.
The development marks a dramatic twist in the prolonged succession dispute surrounding the first-class Olofun stool, coming just days after the Ondo State Executive Council approved the appointment of Prince Samuel Saka Odimayo as the new monarch during its meeting of June 2, 2026.
At the resumed hearing, counsel to the claimant, Mr. Emodamori, narrated what he described as a series of actions by government officials that amounted to disregard for the court’s earlier orders.
Counsel representing the Ondo State Government, Mrs. Helen Falowo, was absent from the proceedings, while Prince Odimayo was not represented by any legal practitioner.
Following an application by the claimant’s counsel, the court adjourned the matter until June 18, 2026, and directed that hearing notices be served on all defendants, who are expected to respond to the allegations contained in the pending motions within five working days.
Speaking after the proceedings, a member of the claimant’s legal team, Mr. A.P. Amuluku, described the alleged violation of the court order by the State Executive Council as grave and potentially far-reaching in its implications.
The court subsequently renewed the ex parte order earlier granted on May 6, 2026, and fixed June 18, 2026, for further hearing.
