Suspense As Court Halts Appointment, Installation Of New Aree

Kazeem Badmus

An Ikirun High Court has directed Boripe local government and the State Government of Osun to stop further action on the appointment and installation of a new Aree of Iree.

The order came 24 hours after the state government announced the appointment of Prince Raphael Oluponle Ademola as the new Aree.

The government claimed in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Mrs. Funke Egbemode, that Oluponle got majority votes of the kingmakers in the town.

But investigations revealed that the kingmakers did not hold any meeting to select a new Aree.

Further findings revealed that some individuals who were appointed as warrant chiefs by the local government selected Ademola and presented him as the chosen candidate to fill the vacant stool.

Besides, kingmakers in Iree had earlier dragged Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Special Adviser to the Governor on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs as well as the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice before a State High Court in Ikirun over the appointment of the Iyalode of Iree, Mrs. Serifatu Adebayo as a warrant chief.

The kingmakers prayed the court to stop all action on the selection and appointment of new Aree pending the determination of the suit.

When the case came up on Tuesday, Justice Isiaka Adeleke of the court said it was wrong for the government to take action on the Aree stool when it is still pending before the court.

Justice Adeleke said: “The cases were filed on 27-10-2022. The defendants were served on 28-10-2022. The court fixed the suit for hearing. It was slated for today 08-11-2022. Hearing notice was ordered. All parties were served on 2nd November, 2022 that the case is coming up today for hearing. None of the defendants filed any process or react to the prayers of the plaintiffs.

“The best person in any society is the one who respects the right of others. The one who will not venture into doing that which can be challenged legitimately. Obedience to the rule of law is for the good of the society at large. All the defendants in the case 1-5 are hereby ordered to stay further action on the facts in issue in the case before the court.

“In the interest of justice, fairness and the sanctity of judicial process, the defendants should STOP further action on the appointment and installation of Aree of Iree pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice served on the defendants.

“By the agreement of counsels, the case is adjourned to Tuesday 22-11-2022 for hearing of the motion on Notice”.

OSUN DEFENDER gathered that the Commissioner of Police, Faleye Olaleye, summoned a meeting with the kingmakers and other stakeholders in Iree on Wednesday and talk to them on the need to maintain peace and orderliness in the community.

Council Of Elders Wants Oyetola To Reverse Appointment Of New Aree

This is just as the Council of Elders in Iree advised Governor Adegboyega Oyetola to cancel the appointment of Prince Raphael Oluponle Ademola as the new Aree.

The council described Oluponle’s appointment as a slap on the culture and tradition of Ireeland, warning that the process may affect the peace of the town if it is not urgently reversed.

Chairman of the council, Asiwaju Adenrele Afolabi, who spoke at a press conference in Iree, on Monday, called on Oyetola to allow the kingmakers to appoint a new monarch for the town, vowing that the council will not allow anybody to disrupt the peace of the town.

Adenrele said: “It is better to stop the appointment and not confirm it. The kingmakers are there to select a king in line with tradition.

“The entire members of Iree Council of Elders in conjunction with the Iree Progressive Association (IPA) has condemned in its totality the process of using Warrant Chiefs by Boripe Local Council Development Authority to fill the vacant stool of Aree of Ireeland.

“The system of jettisoning all the authentic six (in the present situation, five as Eesa is late) Afobajes (Ìwarefà Mefa) to appoint an Oba for Iree ran foul of the existing culture and traditions of the town.”

The council appealed to the indigenes of Iree, especially the youth to remain calm, maintain peace and tranquility, saying the elders were working on way forward on the situation at hand.