A group of princes from Oyo Town has approached the Oyo State High Court sitting in Oyo, seeking judicial intervention to regulate the public conduct and traditional engagements of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade.
The princes—Ladigbolu Adegboyega, Owoade Tesleem, Adeyemi Adesina and Adeyemi Adebayo—filed the suit marked HOY/18/2026, naming the Alaafin as the defendant. They are asking the court to compel the monarch to appear in person or through legal representation in response to the claims brought against him.
In their reliefs, the claimants are seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Alaafin, either by himself or through his servants, privies, or any other person acting on his behalf, from appearing at or attending events and functions which they argue are not befitting the dignity and status of the Alaafin as a symbolic traditional head of the Yoruba race.
The princes are also requesting another order of perpetual injunction barring the monarch from performing any traditional or official acts that would portray him as being subservient or inferior to any other Oba within Yorubaland.
Additionally, the claimants are asking the court to make several declaratory pronouncements on the status of the Alaafin stool. They want a declaration that the office of the Alaafin of Oyo, currently occupied by the defendant, holds immense historical significance not only in Yorubaland but across Nigeria, West Africa and beyond.
They further seek a declaration affirming that the Alaafin of Oyo is the symbol of unity and togetherness, and the central custodian of the cultural, customary and traditional heritage of the Yoruba people. The princes also want the court to declare the Alaafin as the paramount ruler and the appointing authority over all chieftaincy titles in Oyo Town, as well as across Oyo North and Oyo South.
According to the writ of summons, the defendant is required to enter an appearance either personally or through a legal practitioner. This can be done by submitting the appropriate duly completed forms at the registry of the High Court in the judicial division where the suit was instituted, or by forwarding the documents to the registry via registered post.
