The Eselu of Iselu Kingdom in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State, Oba Akintunde Akinyemi, has dragged Governor Dapo Abiodun before the Federal High Court, Abeokuta, over his suspension from office.
Akinyemi was suspended about two weeks ago over alleged involvement in partisan politics, with a letter dated October 20, 2026 directing him to immediately vacate his palace and stop parading himself as Eselu of Iselu Kingdom.
The letter, issued by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, also directed the monarch to stop wearing or using his crown, ileke, beaded staff, irukere and other royal insignia.
In the suit, marked FHC/AB/FHR/148/26, filed at the Federal High Court, Abeokuta Judicial Division, Akinyemi is seeking an interim injunction restraining the state government and the police from enforcing the suspension pending the determination of the substantive suit.
Other respondents in the suit are the Ogun State Attorney-General, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, and the Commissioner of Police, Ogun State.
The monarch is asking the court to restrain the respondents from compelling him to vacate the Eselu Palace, stopping him from performing his traditional functions, or preventing him from presenting himself as Eselu and using royal paraphernalia.
He is also seeking an order preventing the police and government officials from harassing, intimidating, arresting or detaining him in the exercise of his rights as traditional ruler.
In an affidavit in support of the application, Akinyemi argued that the suspension violated his right to fair hearing and other fundamental rights guaranteed under Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
He expressed fear that the government could deploy police to forcibly remove him from the palace and undermine the court proceedings, adding that enforcing the suspension would expose him to public humiliation and cause irreparable injury to the Eselu institution.
His counsel, Dele Fadesere, urged the court to protect the monarch’s fundamental rights and preserve the status quo as it existed before October 20.
In the written address, counsel Oladipo Olasope, SAN, and D.J. Fadesere, argued that the central issue is whether the government can suspend a traditional ruler without giving him opportunity to respond to allegations, citing Supreme Court decisions in Kotoye v. Central Bank of Nigeria (1989) and Reckitt & Colman v. Gongoni (2001) on principles for granting injunction.
They argued that balance of convenience favours the monarch, as enforcing the suspension would cause damage difficult to reverse, and gave an undertaking to indemnify respondents in damages if the injunction ought not to have been granted.
Justice A.A. Okeke has fixed November 11, 2026, for ruling on the interim injunction application.
The application, dated October 23, 2026, was brought under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009, the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019, and provisions of the 1999 Constitution.