Three ruling houses in Iwo, Osun State, have dragged the Oluwo of Iwo, Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi, before the Osun State High Court seeking his removal over the alleged exhumation of remains of past monarchs from the palace premises.
The suit, marked HoS/56/2026, was instituted by Princes Olalekan Lamuye, Adedoja Osunwo, Alade Ismaila, Ganiyu Saheed, Kosiru Kolawole and Wasiu Abolusodun on behalf of the Ogunmakinde Ande, Adegunodo and Alausa ruling houses in Iwo.
Joined in the suit as defendants are Oba Akanbi, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, the Secretary of Iwo Local Government, the Osun State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, the Osun State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, the Inspector-General of Police and the Director of the National Cyber Crime Centre, Abuja.
In a deposition filed through their counsel, Soji Oyetayo, dated May 21, 2026, the claimants sought 13 reliefs, including an order declaring Oba Akanbi unqualified to continue occupying the throne of Oluwo of Iwo.
The claimants also requested “a mandatory order of court compelling the 1st Defendant to vacate and/or abdicate the exalted throne of Oluwo of Iwo being no longer a fit and proper person to occupy and/or continue to occupy the exalted throne of Oluwo of Iwo.”
They also sought a declaration that the alleged exhumation of the remains of former Oluwos from the traditional burial site known as “Ileta” within the palace premises was “irregular, unlawful, without moral justification and against the custom and tradition of Iwo land.”
The suit also asked the court to “declare the stool of the Oluwo of Iwo vacant and compel the second and third defendants to commence a fresh selection process in line with the Chiefs Law of Osun State and the Oluwo of Iwo Chieftaincy Declaration of 1988.”
According to the claimants, “the fresh process should involve inviting the next ruling house in the rotational arrangement to present candidates for consideration by the Iwo kingmakers.”
The plaintiffs equally challenged the invitation, arrest and detention of the second claimant, Adedoja Osunwo, by officers of the Nigeria Police Force in Abuja over “a purely civil matter of defamation of character.”
They asked the court to declare the arrest and detention unlawful and a violation of the claimant’s fundamental rights, while also seeking a perpetual injunction restraining security agencies from inviting or arresting the claimants over the matter.
The claimants requested an order restraining Oba Akanbi from performing the functions of the Oluwo of Iwo or presenting himself as occupant of the throne pending the determination of the case.
Reacting through his media aide, Alli Ibraheem, Oba Akanbi dismissed the suit and described the claimants as “noise makers.”
He said, “They are obviously dazed about the progress Iwo is recording under the reign of Oba Akanbi. He is representing God, no one can remove him. They can approach the court.”
