Ruling Houses Drag Oluwo to Court Over Alleged Exhumation of Past Kings
Three ruling houses in Iwo, Osun State, have filed a suit against the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, before the Osun State High Court, seeking his removal over the alleged exhumation of the remains of former monarchs buried within the palace.
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 of Iwo.
Other defendants in the case include the Osun State Governor, the Secretary of Iwo Local Government, the Osun State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, the Inspector-General of Police, and the Director of the National Cyber Crime Centre, Abuja.
In the court documents filed through their counsel, Soji Oyetayo, and dated May 21, 2026, the claimants sought 13 reliefs, including an order compelling Oba Akanbi to vacate the throne on the grounds that he is no longer fit to occupy the revered stool of the Oluwo of Iwo.
The claimants argued that the monarch’s alleged decision to exhume the remains of past Oluwos from “Ileta,” the traditional burial site within the palace, violated the customs and traditions of Iwo land.
They further asked the court to declare the throne vacant and direct the appropriate authorities to begin a fresh selection process in line with the 1988 Oluwo of Iwo Chieftaincy Declaration and the Chiefs Law of Osun State.
Part of the reliefs sought reads:
“A mandatory order 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 the throne.”
The claimants also challenged the arrest and detention of one of them, Adedoja Osunwo, by police officers in Abuja, allegedly at the instance of the monarch over a defamation matter they described as purely civil in nature.
They requested a perpetual injunction restraining the police and relevant authorities from further arrests or detention connected to the dispute, as well as an order barring Oba Akanbi from continuing to perform the functions of the Oluwo 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.”
“They are obviously unsettled by the progress Iwo is witnessing under the reign of Oba Akanbi. He represents God, and no one can remove him. They are free to go to court,” the aide said.
Oba Akanbi, the 16th Oluwo of Iwo from the Gbaase Ruling House, was installed in 2016 by former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, following the death of Oba Ashiru Tadese in 2012.
The monarch has, in recent years, been involved in disputes with princes from other ruling houses over chieftaincy and traditional matters in the town.
Source: Punch