Awujale selection suit stalled as case file returned for reassignment

The Awujale selection suit filed by the Fusengbuwa Ruling House against Governor Dapo Abiodun and nine kingmakers was temporarily stalled on Wednesday as a vacation judge, Justice A. A. Omoniyi of Court 3, Ogun State High Court, returned the case file to the administrative judge for reassignment. The suit, numbered HCJ/149/2026, was filed on August 21, 2026, and Justice Omoniyi, who is embarking on an annual vacation, indicated he would not return until January 2027, leaving only one week before he departs.

The judge's decision was made due to his impending vacation, and the matter was adjourned to September 23, 2026, for further consideration. The Fusengbuwa Ruling House, led by Olorogun Sunny Kuku and Otunba Abdulateef Owoyemi, argued that the government's deliberate stoppage of the selection process was unlawful. They claimed they had waited for seven months, with only 10 days left to complete the mandatory 14-day process outlined in the Obas and Chiefs Law of Ogun State 2021.

The kingmakers requested the court to determine whether the government had the legal power to halt the nomination or selection process and to declare that the family had fulfilled its statutory responsibility under the law.