Aresa-Adu case: Emiolu royal family suffers setback from alleged ‘sabotage within’
Yinka ADETUNJI
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The Emiolu ruling house of Iresa-Adu, Surulere local government area of Oyo state, suffers a minor setback at an High Court sitting in Ibadan on Wednesday (April 30), as what is suspected to be sabotage from within disrupted the normal flow of court proceeding leading to an “unnecessary adjournment.”
According to findings by ogbomosoinsightonline.com, a (strange) counsel appeared in court purporting to stand for the family even though the family had employed the service of Barrister Michael Lana, a former Attorney General of Oyo state, who has been standing for them. The family vehemently resisted his claim as it’s believed that in one or two more sittings, judgement will be delivered. Though upon investigations some fifth columnists within the family are fingered as having brought him.
Elders of the ruling house who spoke with ogbomosoinsightonline.com after the Wednesday sitting were of such opinion.
Mogaji of the Emiolu ruling house, Pa Prince Julius Olanipekun, was indeed very upset about the development.
Wednesday, 30th April 2025, was supposed to be the day of final hearing of the suit over the rightful family to produce the Aresa of Iresa-Adu, and the Emiolu ruling family, which is the plaintiff, was upbeat the case would go in their favour.
But the case took a dramatic turn as according to family sources, rather than closing their case, the sudden appearance of another counsel elicited an adjournment.
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The source informed the presiding judge, Justice K.A. Adedokun, had ruled in favour of the family in the first hearing against Prince Adeyeye Oyerinde, whose stay on the throne is being contested.
Prince Adeyeye Oyerinde, from the Oshunbiyi ruling house is facing challenge he cannot be the sole representative of the Oshunbiyi ruling house, because the ruling house is said to have five (5) branches, “and therefore, he cannot represent all branches.”
Secondly, it is stated that the joint leadership of the Oshunbiyi ruling house has, through their legal counsel, denied existence of any selection process that purportedly produced Prince Oyerinde Adeyeye within their family, and therefore the Oshunbiyi family does not recognise him as Oba.
This favourable turn of events allowed for Emiolu ruling house to move on to the substantive matter, with assertions that Prince Adeyeye Oyerinde is not king, and that it is the turn of Emiolu ruling house to present a new Aresa of Iresa-Adu as the Oshunbiyi ruling house has produced the last two Aresaadu.
The Honourable Justice K.A Adedokun who had previously warned against delay tactics allegedly adopted by Prince Adeyeye’s lawyer, was ready to proceed to the final hearing on the same day.
But the appearance by the new lawyer seeking to join the matter before the hearing can proceed stalled the proceeding. Justice K.A Adedokun, who was prepared for the final hearing had no choice but to review the motion brought in by the new lawyer.
It was later confirmed that some individuals from within the Emiolu ruling house have been engaging in subterranean moves to ensure that Emiolu family loses the case. They are said to be employing nefarious tactics to cause unnecessary delay and engineer frustration.
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All representatives of the Emiolu ruling house who travelled to Ibadan on Wednesday, with the hope of witnessing the final court hearing and judgement afterwards, left the court with deep disappointment, angered that some people within their own family would be sabotaging their efforts again since 2019.
Pa Julius Olanipekun, the Mogaji, said, “This current case handled by Barrister Michael Lana is a watertight case and with the greatest merits. We started this case in August 2024, and we can all see light at the end of the tunnel, for our family to gain victory to rightly produce Aresa-Adu. The victory is a collective victory for the entire Emiolu Ruling House and not an individual, because we must first gain victory as a family before any individual can be considered for Obaship. We came here for final hearing, therefore, for someone or a group of people within Emiolu family to sabotage all our efforts again after 7years of back and forth court battles is unforgivable, and we will get to the bottom of this, and God will reveal these evil doers amongst us”.
The counsel of the family, Barrister Michael Lana, also expressed deep dismay at the level of sabotage within Emiolu ruling house, nonetheless, he assured the family that “justice will eventually prevail.”
